Managing crop residue is essential to conservation farming systems that enhance soil quality and reduce soil erosion. Growers, and the seed dealers they work with, regularly request information on residue decomposition of winter wheat cultivars, but none is currently available. Previous analysis of winter wheat residue has shown that hard and soft cultivars differ significantly […]
The term “plasticulture” refers to the use of plastic for the benefit of agricultural production. In practice, plasticulture may be used to describe agricultural systems that utilize plastic-covered structures to extend growing seasons and protect crops from excess moisture, extreme weather, and other threats; ground-laid plastic mulch films; plastic-based precision irrigation systems (i.e. drip irrigation); […]
In a newly planted blueberry trial, ‘Draper’ plants were transplanted from 1-gal pots into the field in March 2015. Greenhouse-grown living mulch plants, creeping buttercup (Ranunculus arvensis L.) and sweet woodruff (Galium odoratum (L.) Scop.), were transplanted to a density of 1 plant/ft2 at the same time as blueberry. Other plots were treated with 5 […]
In western Washington growers utilize small grains as a rotational crop to break disease and pest cycles as well as resting the soil between more intensive, and profitable, crops. We are breeding barley and wheat for nutritional content and end-use quality, using novel color traits to differentiate the crop and increase the antioxidant content of […]
Cool season food legumes (CSFL) harvested as seed are important rotational crops in the Palouse region of WA and ID and western WA as they provide fixed N to subsequent crops and break weed and disease cycles. In organic systems, fall-sown CSFL can serve as winter cover crops to reduce soil erosion, improve soil health […]
Soil acidification is a growing challenge in Washington’s agricultural soils due to long term application of ammonia-based fertilizers. Acidic soil is detrimental to legume-rhizobia symbioses and nitrogen fixation. We seek to find acid tolerant and effective strains of Mesorhizobium spp. and Rhizobium leguminosarum, which associate with chickpeas and dry peas/lentils, respectively. The ultimate mission of […]
Despite being rich in protein, fiber, and phytonutrients, pulse crops remain an underutilized food in typical American diets. To help promote pulse consumption, we developed a STEMfocused curriculum that combines exposure to pulses in a school garden setting and in the classroom through nutrition, math and biology education. This curriculum meets the new Next Generation […]
Small grains – wheat, barley, oats, and rye – have been in cultivation in Western Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia since the fur-trade era of the mid‐1800s. Today, these crops and pseudo-grains (e.g. quinoa, amaranth, and buckwheat) are grown in rotation with high‐value fruit and vegetable, as well as on pastures and haylands. Consumer demand […]
Intercropped legumes can supply nitrogen to fruit trees and reduce the need for purchased nitrogen fertilizer, potentially reducing costs and environmental footprint. The project evaluated nitrogen isotope techniques (comparing the 15N and 14N signal from the legume N versus other sources) to monitor the degree of uptake by apple trees of legume N grown in […]
The popularity of quinoa in the past decade has quadrupled prices at U.S. retail outlets. For all this demand, the vast majority of the quinoa consumed in the U.S. is imported from Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, with 65% of the quinoa sold in the U.S. being organic. This project hopes to increase organic quinoa production […]