Weed Control Lessons from Down Under
Small Grains Extension Specialist Drew Lyon participated in a visiting professorship in Australia last fall to learn more about harvest weed seed control (HWSC), which is a non-chemical approach to managing weeds, particularly herbicide-resistant weeds. He brought his knowledge back to the Palouse and has been extending it to wheat growers this winter via his popular Wheat Beat podcast and the Timely Topics section of the WSU Wheat & Small Grains website.
- A Beer Can Height: A Closer Look at Australian Harvest Weed Seed Control with Daniel Fox In this podcast, Lyon interviews an award-winning and innovative 5th-generation Australian farmer about his non-chemical weed control strategies such as chaff lining and adjusting harvest height to the “beer can height” rule of thumb.
- Australian Innovation in Weed Control with Caleb Squires & Guy Coleman A wheat biologist and a weed scientist with the University of Sydney, Australia, discuss innovative weed control in small grains.
- Australia and Harvest Weed Seed Control An overview of HWSC as practiced by Australian farmers and its potential applicability in the Pacific Northwest.
Managing a Boring Pest in Mint
Communications Specialist Sally O’Neal presented Monitoring and Management of Mint Root Borer to the Scientific Affairs Committee of the Mint Industry Research Council (MIRC) on January 22. The committee met the day before the national MIRC annual meeting in San Antonio, Texas, to hear results of nationwide mint research in 2018 and proposals for 2019 research. O’Neal discussed IPM Team Leader Doug Walsh’s ongoing work in monitoring and management of mint root borer, Fumibotys fumalis, which is a key pest in peppermint. Mint root borer has proven extremely difficult to monitor via conventional methods. This project, conducted by Walsh’s Environmental and Agricultural Entomology Laboratory (EAEL) included initiation of a pheromone monitoring program for this cryptic pest and conducting efficacy trials with candidate and registered insecticides to help provide mint producers with IPM tools, building on work conducted on other root-feeding pests. The project was subsequently funded to continue into 2019 with the goals of validating the monitoring method and increasing reduced-risk management options.
Coast-to-Coast with Doug Walsh
Extension IPM Team Leader Doug Walsh had a busy winter, with talks in Washington, Oregon, California, Michigan, Louisiana, and the District of Columbia. Crops tackled included alfalfa, berries, grapes, hops, onions, and tree fruits, and topics ranged from pesticide (miticide, insecticide, rodenticide) resistance and efficacy to methods of pest monitoring to pollinator protection. Specific pests discussed included aphids, caterpillars, Lygus bugs, mealybugs, rodents, spider mites, thrips, treehoppers, and weevils. Audiences addressed included agricultural producers, regulatory agencies, commodity commissions, and end users.
Highlights of Walsh’s presentations included:
- Integrated Management of Arthropod Pests on Hop 2018 at the 63rd annual American Hop Convention in Monterey, California, on January 22
- Enhancing and Protecting Populations of Alfalfa Seed Predators at the Western Alfalfa Seed Growers Association Convention in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 28
- Keeping the Buzz While Killing the Bugs in an informal session with the Pesticide Division of the Environmental Protection Agency in Arlington, Virginia, on February 7
Guarding Grapes in the Gorge (and Beyond)
Extension Viticulturist Michelle Moyer continued her work with the FRAME* Network this winter (*Fungicide Resistance Assessment, Mitigation and Extension), including a highly successful Fungicide Resistance Management workshop held at the Walter Clore Wine and Culinary Center in Prosser on Feburary 27. The all-day workshop was attended by 65 participants representing an estimated 68.6% of wine grape and 9.4% of juice grape acreage in Washington State. A series of morning lectures was followed by breakout group work on designing and defending fungicide programs and interactive discussion.
Despite unseasonably snowy conditions, a March 6 WAVEx* event (*Washington Advancements in Viticulture and Enology) had a robust turnout of 35 Columbia Gorge area growers and consultants, representing 7,374 acres. Moyer’s presentation on powdery mildew and crown gall focused on incorporating pathogen biology when designing an integrated disease management program. The event, co-hosted by WSU, Oregon State University, Washington State Wine, and the Columbia Gorge Winegrowers Association, was held in The Dalles, Oregon.
Moyer also spoke about powdery mildew management at other events during the quarter, including Washington Wine Growers, National Grape Cooperative (juice grapes), LIVE (Low Input Viticulture and Enology technical group), and Washington Wine Technical Group (at which she presented a wine tasting and discussed disease-resistant hybrids).
Tater Threats: How Harmful Are Lygus?
Regional Vegetable Specialist and Franklin County Extension Director Tim Waters presented results of his 2018 work on Lygus bug in potato at the Washington-Oregon Potato Conference, held January 23-25 in Kennewick, Washington. The conference, including Waters’ presentation, was featured on pp. 12-16 of Potato Country magazine’s March/April edition.
Lygus have long been present in potato fields, but potatoes are not considered a preferred host. Populations increases in recent years have caused concern among growers. Waters’ objectives in 2018 were twofold: 1) to determine the species present and 2) to assess damage they might be causing. Lygus collection from 20 Columbia Basin sites found L. hesperus to be the dominant species in most fields, with L. elisius present or even dominant in a few sites. Constructing cages permeable to water, air, and sunlight (but not Lygus) allowed Waters’ team to compare plots with and without Lygus, as well as with Lygus introduced at various timings. Early findings indicate that Lygus negatively impact plant health and tuber quality with respect to greening, specific gravity, tonnage, and gross returns, with some variability based on timing and other factors. Rather than applying cost-prohibitive measures to employ Lygus management throughout the season, Waters will seek to determine the time period of greatest damage and a reasonable treatment threshold with studies beginning in 2019.
These Shrimp Are a Jumbo Problem in the Oyster Industry
A new outbreak of burrowing shrimp has recently infested Willapa Bay, Washington—the nation’s most productive shellfish estuary. These shrimp are rapidly destroying estuarine habitat and valuable oyster beds. Washington State Extension Shellfish Pest Management Specialist Kim Patten has been monitoring the population of tiny pelagic larvae as they settled out onto the tideflats, and then grow into destructive adults whose extensive bioturbation of the sediment cause shellfish to sink into the mud and die. Due to concerns about the sensitive aquatic environment, regulatory constraints prohibit shellfish farmers from using traditional chemical controls on adult burrowing shrimp. Patten’s team has turned its attention to management of new recruits and juvenile shrimp, which are a potential weak link in the pest’s life cycle. Attempts to mechanically control these early life stages through harrowing seemed promising initially, but monitoring data indicate that larvae settlement is spread out over a much longer period than previously reported. This nuance in population dynamic has complicated efforts for mechanical control. Patten has been conducting numerous outreach events with industry leaders and regulatory officials about this devastating problem in efforts to arrive at a viable solution.
Stink Bug Traps and More at Orchard Conference
Tree Fruit IPM Extension Specialist Betsy Beers and her team made a number of presentations at the 93rd Annual Orchard Pest and Disease Management Conference held January 9-11 in Portland, Oregon. Approximately 200 crop consultants, growers and scientists attended this year’s conference and abstracts (pdf) are available online. Two of Beers’ PhD students presented novel research on controlling stink bugs, including the intractable, invasive brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB).
- Adrian Marshall presented One Flew Over the Shade Net: Developing Stink Bug Exclusion Tactics, highlighting the team’s research into low (4-8 ft.) mesh barriers as a non-chemical means of controlling stink bug movement into cropping systems.
- Jim Hepler presented Fickle Flaps of Fate: Building a Better Stink Bug Trap, the results of the first field trial of his improved attract-and-kill BMSB trap. Preliminary data suggest that his “Poncho Traps” could catch up to three times as many stink bugs as existing trap designs.
Other team talks included Beers’ These ARE the Drones You’re Looking For, an overview of her team’s Sterile Insect Release (SIR) program, which was featured in Good Fruit Grower magazine. Postdoctoral researcher Louie Nottingham moderated a panel on chemical control and new products and presented a talk entitled Reflective Plastic Mulch: an Alternative Approach for Early Season Management of Pear Psylla, and was also featured in Good Fruit Grower.
Helping K-12 Teachers Grab Science by the Roots
Vegetable Horticulture specialist Carol Miles and her graduate students Abigail Attavar and Pinki Devi presented their ongoing research regarding rootstocks and methods for vegetable grafting to 10 teachers from Seattle’s Nathan Hale High School on January 21 at the WSU Mount Vernon Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center. The research team explained the importance of grafting for the management of verticillium wilt (caused by Verticillium dahliae) using resistant rootstocks in Solanaceae (eggplant, tomato) and Cucurbitaceae (watermelon) crops.
As part of their outreach program to support K-12 STEM education, the research team converted their Guide for Hosting a Vegetable Grafting Workshop into a classroom lesson, The Science behind Vegetable Grafting. Miles, Attavar and Devi collaborated with Mark Watrin, Science Curriculum Coordinator, Battleground (WA) Schools and a member of Washington Science and Teacher Association, to incorporate Next Generation Science Standards into the curriculum. Review of the curriculum and feedback was provided by to Matthew Davis, a teacher at Nathan Hale High School and Sacha Buller, a teacher at Concrete (WA) High School.
Bringing IPM Training to Urban Applicators
Urban IPM Coordinator Carrie Foss conducted a full slate of Urban IPM and Pesticide Safety Education recertification courses this winter throughout western Washington for currently licensed professional applicators. Hot topics included:
- Keep Your Eyes Open for Invasive Pests
New-to-the-Northwest insects including emerald ash borer, spotted wing drosophila, Japanese beetle, imported fire ant, and brown marmorated stink bugs, as well as invasive noxious weeds. - Effects of Pollutants on Salmon
Pesticide and stormwater infrastructure impacts on water quality. - Healthy Soils, Healthy Plants, Less Pesticides
How soil health can impact the pest complex and its management. - Plants and Their Partners: Pollinators, Predators and Parasites
Ways plants use structure, color, scent, nectar and pollen to attract pollinators and beneficial organism. - Proper Pruning Techniques for Disease Management
Beyond plant and soil health, proper pruning can help prevent diseases and reduce pesticide applications.