Vineyard, WSU scientists team up to battle orchard virus threat
By Seth Truscott, College of Agricultural, Human and Resource Sciences WAPATO, Wash. – Something in the soil was destroying Andrew Schultz’ grapevines.
Plant Pathology
Pink snow mold destruction discovered in area wheat fields
By Linda Weiford, WSU News PULLMAN, Wash. – Damage caused by snow mold in some eastern Washington wheat fields has surprised a Washington State University plant expert who has studied the fungus for nearly four decades.
March 21: Symphony of soil signals protects wheat health
By Seth Truscott, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences PULLMAN, Wash. – High-tech equipment that will help scientists improve wheat health will be introduced to the public at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 21, at the Biotechnology-Life Sciences Building (BLS) room 402 at Washington State University.
Researchers tackle impact of climate change on plants
By Eric Sorensen, WSU science writer PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University researchers are undertaking an industrious investigation into the effects of global warming on plants. Making the effort possible is a fully automated “plant hotel” that can analyze up to 6,000 seedlings in a single experiment.
Researcher fights fungus in apples, pears under storage
By Seth Truscott, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences WENATCHEE, Wash. – Delving into the secrets of the molds and fungi that can wreck a good apple or pear, Achour Amiri can be found working in packing rooms and warehouses throughout central Washington this time of year.
Novel gene resists toxic wheat disease that costs billions
PULLMAN, Wash. – Scientists at Washington State University and Kansas State University have isolated and cloned a gene that provides resistance to Fusarium head blight, or wheat scab, a crippling disease that caused $7.6 billion in losses in U.S. wheat fields between 1993 and 2001.
Want fries with that? Stealth potato virus threatens industry
By Sylvia Kantor, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences PULLMAN, Wash. – The next time you sink your teeth into a hot, crispy french fry, consider the threats that stand between you and this iconic food. Newly emerged viruses threaten the U.S. potato industry, including potatoes grown in Washington.
Study clears way for new approaches to plant disease
By Eric Sorensen, WSU science writer PULLMAN, Wash. – A Washington State University biologist has found what he calls “very strong support” for an 86-year-old hypothesis about how nutrients move through plants. His two-decade analysis of the phenomenon has resulted in a suite of techniques that can ultimately be used to fight plant diseases and […]
Study compares wines from diseased and healthy vines
By Scott Weybright, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences PROSSER, Wash. – Grapevine leafroll disease (GLD) has plagued vineyards for centuries, but little is known about how this virus impacts the fruit quality and actual wine produced from grapes of affected plants.