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The Department of Crop and Soil Sciences at Washington State University serves the Land Grant tradition by offering nationally competitive undergraduate and graduate education programs, conducting fundamental and applied plant and soil research, and extending the science of our disciplines to serve the public. Read more
2013 Field Day Abstracts
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WSU dryland research station tests biosolid use
Scientists at Washington State University’s dryland research station will weigh in on wheat farmers using treated sewage sludge to fertilize their crops.
WSU professor and research agronomist Bill Schillinger and WSU Extension specialist Craig Cogger will talk about their findings on biosolid applications to dryland wheat during the station’s field day. Read more
New WSU feed barley has disease resistance package (Muir)
Washington barley growers will have another new variety to consider next spring.
Muir is a spring, two-row feed barley developed by Washington State University barley breeder Kevin Murphy in Pullman, Washington. Read more
Barley name honors longtime plant breeder (Lyon)
Senior scientific assistant Steve Lyon, shown with wheat plants maturing in a WSU Mount Vernon greenhouse, has been involved in WSU small grains research for more than 22 years. Read more
Craig Cogger, Washington State University, Leader in Loop Biosolids Recycling
Craig Cogger Green Globe Award winner
As a soil scientist with Washington State University, Craig Cogger has been helping King County’s Loop biosolids program make sound, evidence-based decisions for more than two decades. Cogger worked to develop nationwide guidelines for biosolids nutrient management, both to prevent runoff and to meet the nutrient requirements of the crop, documenting the significant benefits of biosolids recycling, including improved soil nutrients, crop quality, production economics, soil quality, and carbon sequestration.
WSU leads development of heat-tolerant grain
Kulvinder Gill leads effort to develop wheat varieties that are tolerant to high temperatures
PULLMAN, Wash. – Washington State University will lead a $16.2 million effort to develop wheat varieties that are better at tolerating the high temperatures found in most of the world’s growing regions – temperatures that are likely to increase with global warming.
The research will be supported by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and the Directorate of Wheat Research (DWR). The work is part of the U.S. government’s global hunger and food security initiative, Feed the Future.
Researchers aim to have their first set of “climate-resilient” varieties in five years.
The research will focus on the North Indian River Plain, which is home to nearly 1 billion people and faces challenges such as limited water and rising temperatures, said Kulvinder Gill . . . Read more
Research Cultivates Seeds of Opportunity
WSU Research Cultivates Seeds of Opportunity for PNW Farmers
PULLMAN, Wash. – The grain-like seed crop quinoa (pronounced KEEN-wah) has grown in popularity and likely will be grown more widely in the Pacific Northwest, thanks to a $1.6 million U.S. Department of Agriculture grant recently awarded to Washington State University researchers.
Kevin Murphy is leading an effort to develop new varieties of quinoa to meet a growing domestic deman. Quinoa is in demand because it is a highly nutritious, high-protein, gluten-free alternative to grains and rice. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has declared 2013 the International Year of Quinoa, with a goal to “focus world attention on the role that quinoa´s biodiversity and nutritional value play in providing food security and nutrition and the eradication of poverty.” Read more
2013 Pacific Northwest Crop Tour Schedule
Organic Agriculture and Farming Systems
Cereal Variety Testing Program 2013 Map Sites
Stripe Rust Alerts
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Harsh will chair Department of Crop and Soil Sciences
James Harsh, a WSU faculty member since 1983, has been appointed chair of the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, effective Jan. 1. Harsh succeeds Rich Koenig, who was named associate dean and director of WSU Extension. [more]