By Rachel Webber, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences
PROSSER, Wash. – Four new weather stations will provide wheat farmers and breeders with insights into the influence of weather patterns on wheat production and yields in eastern Washington.
The stations were installed by Washington State University’s AgWeatherNet team this year in Harrington, Hartline, LaCrosse and Garfield with financial support from the Washington Grain Commission, said AgWeatherNet director Gerrit Hoogenboom.
WSU wheat breeder Mike Pumphrey is eager to have additional weather and climate data from eastern Washington’s wheat growing region. Researchers and growers will benefit from information on how weather impacts wheat production and quality, he said.
“Many diseases and traits are influenced by weather and the environment,” he said. “Accurate information will allow us to gain a better understanding of drought tolerance, heat tolerance and other wheat productivity traits.”
There are 149 AgWeatherNet weather stations – 145 in Washington and four in Oregon. The team hopes to have 150 before the end of 2013, Hoogenboom said.
For information about the new AgWeatherNet stations and associated decision support tools and models in your area, please visit http://weather.wsu.edu/awn.php.
For the latest statewide AgWeatherNet weather outlook from meteorologist Nic Loyd visit http://weather.wsu.edu/awn.php?page=awn_outlook.
For an AgWeatherNet recap of October’s weather statewide, see https://archive.news.wsu.edu/2013/11/13/pleasant-october-weather-blown-away-on-the-28th/#.UoPHnJHTmfA.
Contacts:
Gerrit Hoogenboom, AgWeatherNet director, 509-786-9371, gerrit.hoogenboom@wsu.edu
Mike Pumphrey, WSU wheat breeder, 509-335-0509, m.pumphrey@wsu.edu
Rachel Webber, WSU CAHNRS Communications, 509-335-0837, rcwebber@wsu.edu