Crops

Organic vegetable growers in western Washington pass over their fields 10 to 20 times annually with tillage equipment ranging from spring tooth harrows to mold board plows. Soil preparation activities such as plowing, rototilling, and even spading pulverize large‐bodied soil organisms and reduce soil carbon storage and aggregates. Successful reduced tillage in organic agriculture relies […]

215 thousand small forest landowners own 5.7 million acres of forestland, half of the 11.6 million acres of private forestland in the state. Declining timber prices, and changes in landowner demographics have created an educational need from small woodlot owners that want to explore other, non-timber agricultural enterprises. Changing forest practices can offer new opportunities […]

This work was a demonstration of concept that in year 1 canola can be intercropped with peas and the forage ensiled 70 days later, and a canola oilseed crop subsequently harvested in year 2. Botanically, when winter canola is seeded in the spring or early summer, it will grow as a biennial crop, in that […]

Biological control by naturally-occurring predatory insects and spiders is an ecologically friendly and sustainable approach to pest management. Biological control is often underutilized, however, in part because we know little about how to successfully conserve predators to maximize their impacts on pests. Here, in Washington potato fields, we investigated the effects of planting wildflower insectaries […]

This project focuses on three alternative grain crops (buckwheat, quinoa and winter spelt) that were identified by organic farmers in Washington State as unique in their potential to diversify and improve existing small to mid-scale farming systems. Buckwheat, quinoa and spelt have the potential, to differing extents, to: diversify cropping systems with under-represented grain crops […]

Increased costs of feed and the desire to enhance on-farm livestock feed production have created a need for alternative fodder and forage crops. Historically, many crops such as fodder beets, swedes, carrots and kale were used for livestock feed. Many small-scale crop producers in western Washington are looking to diversify their farming operations to include […]

The project developed an environmental and economic assessment tool for the tree fruit industry. Moreover, an assessment study of fertilizer types was performed contributing to the sustainability of apple production. A simplified and interactive life cycle analysis (LCA) tool was programmed in excel. The LCA tool analyzes operations throughout the establishment, training and production phases […]

Tomato, eggplant, and watermelon can be significantly impacted by Verticillium wilt, a soil-borne disease common throughout Washington. Verticillium microsclerotia are known to persist in soil for over 13 years. Symptoms impact plants later in development after most production costs have been incurred, resulting in a 25-100% crop loss in some years even when ground has […]

This study focused on adapting a disease forecasting system called WISDOM for use in managing late blight in organic specialty potato production systems of western Washington. Although disease forecasting models in crop production are generally known to reduce unnecessary fungicide sprays and fungicide application costs, none have been developed with late blight and organic potato […]

SUMMARY Effects of an alfalfa cover crop on biological control of pear psylla and tree nutrition was assessed. The bullet points below summarize findings. Experimental Orchard (Moxee) • substantial increase in predator densities on orchard floor associated with alfalfa cover crop • no correlative effect on predator numbers in trees • no effects of cover […]