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 […]
Barley has well-documented nutritional advantages over other small grains as a source of human food. Researchers from WSU have been breeding and selecting hulless food barley types, a novel and promising market class for Washington growers. For this current project, our research and extension goals are to: 1) identify and release high yielding, disease resistant, […]
The proposed study will address the priority topic area of biologically-intensive and organic approaches to sustainable management of soil quality, particularly focusing on the economic valuation of soil improvement practices. To do this, we will combine information from producer focus groups, a literature search, and field measurements to estimate the benefits and costs of soil […]
Soil-borne pathogens, particularly root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus spp.), Fusarium spp., and Rhizoctonia spp. are a major constraint to grain production in the Pacific Northwest. Yield losses associated with these pathogens rages from 20-60% in infested fields. Symptoms often mimic drought or nutrient deficiencies because of plant root damage. The options available to growers to control pathogen […]
Quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is a nutritious and broadly adapted grain crop in high demand in the US. However, very little information is available to farmers regarding regionally adapted varieties, best management practices, or marketing options for quinoa. Additionally, the current quinoa supply from the traditional quinoa producing Andean countries (Bolivia, Peru, Chile, and Ecuador) is […]
The Cascadia Grains Conference brings together farmers, processors and end-users, as well as investors, brokers and local government officials to support rebuilding a grain economy west of the Cascade Mountains in Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia. The focus is on three value-added enterprises: brewing and distilling, poultry and livestock feed, and artisan baking. Wheat, barley, […]
Grafting vegetable crops onto resistant rootstock is an effective organic and sustainable strategy to manage soil-borne diseases such as Verticillium wilt, which is a common disease throughout Washington. Grafting has been used successfully in Asia for nearly 100 years, but is only now being adopted in the U.S. Based on work done in our CSANR […]
Farmland in urban-influenced regions produces the majority of vegetables and fruits grown in the U.S., yet rural-urban interface (RUI) farms are threatened by development pressure, climate change, economic conditions, and infrastructure loss (American Farmland Trust, 2007). Developing innovative marketing relationships and strategic policy alliances with urban consumers can potentially enhance RUI farm viability. Community-led food […]
Priority area: Novel approaches to disease and fertility management that transcend traditional organic approaches and seek to exploit and integrate biological and chemical processes. Flavins (riboflavin, FMN and FAD; vitamin B2) are bioactive molecules that have a beneficial effect on plant growth and soil quality. Recently we found that mutations in the riboflavin biosynthetic pathway […]
Potatoes are a valuable Washington crop that is threatened by devastating insect pests. We have found (1) that insect-killing “entomopathogenic” nematodes (EPNs) are key natural enemies of these insects, and (2) that organic farming greatly increases EPN genetic diversity. Additionally, genetically-diverse mixes of EPN strains are more lethal to insects than any single worm strain. […]