Crop Sciences

Scientists discover perennial hybrid of wheat, wheatgrass

By Seth Truscott, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences MOUNT VERNON, Wash. – With a hybrid crop called Salish Blue, scientists at Washington State University have combined wheat and wheatgrass in a new species with the potential to help Pacific Northwest farmers and the environment.

Nov. 9: Workshop on collecting, interpreting vineyard data

By Kaury Balcom, Wine Science Center RICHLAND, Wash. – A free talk about using sensors and digital mapping to track vineyard health will be offered 4:15-5:15 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 9, at the Ste. Michelle Wine Estates Washington State University Wine Science Center, 359 University Dr., Richland.

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.

$2M grant funds continuing WSU research of organic quinoa

By Scott Weybright, College of Agricultural, Human & Natural Resource Sciences PULLMAN, Wash. – Scientists at Washington State University just completed four years determining the best varieties of organic quinoa for Pacific Northwest farmers to grow. A new grant will help researchers assess crop yields, prices and more to help growers turn a profit.

Book details early hop history, key settler’s influence

By Caryn Lawton, WSU Press PULLMAN, Wash. – In 2015 Washington state supplied 75 percent of the U.S. hop harvest. This important agricultural commodity’s early Northwest cultivation can be traced to remarkable 1852 Oregon Trail pioneer Ezra Meeker, and Washington State University Press has just released a new title that unfurls the story.