breeding

WSU apple a non-biotech non-browning alternative

PULLMAN, Wash. – A genetically engineered apple that doesn’t brown after it is cut has received media attention recently. Meanwhile, Washington State University’s recently released apple variety, WA 38, also is extremely slow to brown – and it was developed with conventional breeding techniques used for millennia.

WSU researchers preparing bee semen bank

  Sheppard and Cobey discuss the challenges facing honey bees and the efforts to expand the U.S. honey bee gene pool. Video by WSU College of Agricultural, Human and Natural Resource Sciences.     Click the image above to see how semen is extract from honey bees Liquid nitrogen used to preserve semen from imperiled subspecies. […]

WSU releases four new wheat varieties

PULLMAN – WSU has released four new wheat varieties for commercialization, including Xerpha, a soft-white common winter wheat, which is highly adapted to a broad range of production zones in Washington, Oregon, southern Idaho and northern California. “WSU’s job is to work in partnership with industry so growers will have the best varieties possible,” said […]

Organic wheat breeding lands $680,000 grant

PULLMAN — Stephen Jones, a Washington State University wheat breeder, has received a $680,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop wheat varieties suited for low-input and organic agriculture systems.The funding will underwrite continuing research in the nation’s only certified organic wheat breeding program.Organic demand“There’s a tremendous demand for organic wheat,” Jones said. […]

Research suggests herbicide may suppress soybean rust

Promising lab results by researchers at Washington State University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service show the herbicide glyphosate has activity in suppressing Asian soybean rust. WSU has applied for U.S. and international patent protection, which will be published soon. WSU, through its Washington State Research Foundation, intends to license this intellectual […]

Beetle invades crops; Extension preparing for counterattack

Washington State University Extension is seeking information from farmers who have infestations of  cereal leaf beetles in their fields to aid a statewide biocontrol project. (Photo left)Biocontrol is the deliberate use of one living organism to control another.The cereal leaf beetle is a newcomer to the state, according to Diana Roberts, WSU Spokane County area […]