CAHNRS News is published monthly. Please submit items for the October issue by September 30.

Honors and awards

Poonam Bajaj, a doctoral student in Biological Systems Engineering, won first place this summer in an Institute of Food Technologists student poster competition. She looked at ways to use pea protein as an innovative way to micro-encapsulate flaxseed oil. Bajaj’s work could lead to a sustainable capsule material, making for a greener process.

Steve Sheppard, chair of the Department of Entomology, was featured on National Public Radio’s “Here & Now.” In “Scientists Look To Mushrooms For Honeybee Health,” listeners learn how mushroom and bee experts are teaming up to save honeybees and fight parasitic mites with a new weapon: fungus. Watch a related video here.

Jessica Goldberger, associate professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, was elected co-chair of the Sociology of Agriculture and Food Research and Interest Group of the Rural Sociological Society. SAFRIG is a community of scholars interested in labor, production, inequality, policy, and global and local change issues.

Department of Plant Pathology Professor Hanu Pappu was recognized as a Fellow at the American Phytopathological Society’s annual meeting. The organization chose Pappu for its highest honor for his contributions to research, teaching, extension, outreach and administration. Fewer than 0.1 percent of the society’s membership gets the Fellow award annually.

Hongchao Zhang, a third-year Biological Systems Engineering doctoral student, won first place in the 2015 Boyd-Scott Graduate Research Award competition for his work on advanced food packaging methods. The contest was part of the American Society of Agriculture and Biological Engineers’ international meeting in New Orleans. Zhang’s research holds potential to extend shelf life of food for retail and military uses to at last three years.

Mahesh Bule, a former postdoctoral research associate with Biological Systems Engineering, patented methods to turn straw into fuel. Bule and his team at the Bioprocessing and Bioproduct Engineering Laboratory research ways to turn agricultural residues such as wheat straw and sorghum stalks into microbial lipids that can used to create fuel for jets or cars. Read about his study here.

Hanwu Lei, WSU Tri-Cities associate professor in Biological Systems Engineering, was awarded a $494,000 grant to research catalysts for energy output and biofuel performance. Lei will use the biomass-derived catalysts to produce aromatic hydrocarbons: high-energy organic compounds that are responsible for the octane number, or performance rating, of a fuel. Lei’s project could transform rural America by leveraging what is now considered an agricultural waste.

September 2015

News

State 4-H Foundation donations collected for wildfire-impacted youth

The Washington State 4-H Foundation is gathering donations this fall to support 4-H clubs and families affected by the region’s unprecedented wildfires. Contributions pay for members’ loss of club supplies, project materials or livestock projects. An online application for these funds will be available soon. Learn more about the State 4-H Foundation drive here.

Student interns help Oso slide-affected communities recover

This summer, for the second year in a row, WSU student interns helped residents of the cities of Arlington and Darrington recover from the March 22, 2014, Oso landslide.

The SR 530 Summer Internship Program is a project of the CAHNRS/Extension SR 530 Mudslide Team created by the late President Elson S. Floyd to assist impacted communities. Fourteen interns, all from Arlington and Darrington, engaged teens in a Summer Youth Forestry Institute, provided nutrition and STEM education, created economic development strategies, and helped with community projects and events. The experience showed students how stress and trauma affect communities, helping them understand what it takes to be resilient.

Read more about WSU’s landslide recovery efforts here.

Custom weather vane goes up at Ensminger Pavilion

CAHNRS’ historic Ensminger Pavilion has a refurbished cupola and a custom-made WSU weather vane, added as part of restoration work in August. Funding came from the WSU Facilities capital budget.

Prior to renovations in the early 2000s, the 1933-built pavilion was the oldest building on campus still used for its original purpose. Read more about Ensminger history here.

CAHNRS team raises awareness of crucifer quarantine

Tim Paulitz, a USDA-ARS plant pathologist at Washington State University, Lindsey du Toit, a vegetable seed pathologist at WSU Mount Vernon, and Karen Sowers, an Extension and outreach oilseed specialist, are educating growers and the public about the importance of compliance with new rules meant to stop the spread of Blackleg disease. The CAHNRS team is also working with Extension specialists to scout canola and cover crops and take samples.

Blackleg, a serious fungal disease affecting canola and many cover crop mixtures, has been confirmed in Oregon and Idaho.

The Washington State Department of Agriculture Crucifer Quarantine Rule saw major changes this year. All crucifer seed planted in eastern Washington must comply with the quarantine. Updates about the rule change and scouting results are posted on the Washington Oilseed Cropping System website.

Biofuel farm featured on KING-TV

Researchers and farmers who are turning poplar trees into biofuel as part of a Washington State University industry partnership were featured in an August 17 KING-TV news story.

KING environmental reporter Alison Morrow visited a Stanwood farm that’s part of Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest. Hybrid trees there will be ready for harvest in two years. Kevin Zobrist, associate professor with Extension Forestry, is among those featured in the video.
Watch the video here.

Videos showcase oilseed conference innovations

Growers, industry experts, CAHNRS faculty and students shared innovations in oilseed production at this summer’s Pacific Northwest Oilseed & Direct Seed Cropping Systems Conference. You can watch videos of their sessions on the WSU Oilseed Cropping Systems website.

General session topics included high residue irrigated farming, ice age geology, transgenic crops and soil health. Poster and PowerPoint presentations are also available on the WOCS website.

Murphy, Matanguihan edit book on quinoa’s emerging role

Department of Crop and Soil Sciences researchers Kevin Murphy and Janet Matanguihan co-edited “Quinoa: Improvement and Sustainable Production.” Published by John Wiley & Sons, the e-book is already available, while the print edition comes out this month.

“Quinoa” covers breeding, agronomy, genetics, nutrition, marketing and management, with an emphasis on the crop’s emerging role in world food security. Contributing authors include international quinoa experts. Learn more about the book here.

AMDT researcher seeks moms for body, weight study

Debbie Christel, assistant professor in the Department of Apparel, Merchandising, Design and Textiles, is looking for mothers of overweight girls to participate in audiotaped interviews for a study about weight and socialization.

Participants should be mothers of girls age 10-14 who have a body mass index (BMI) at the 70th percentile or higher.

Participants receive $20. Contact Christel (deborah_christel@wsu.edu, 509-335-7453) before Nov. 1 to apply.

Events

September 10-CAHNRS Fall Festival

The college-wide Fall Festival is 4 to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, at Johnson Plaza. Come for free food, fun, games and ideas, and meet students, professors, advisors, associate deans, and the dean. View club exhibits, department displays, and get a chance to win a scholarship toward a CAHNRS major. Learn more here or go to www.facebook.com/cahnrs.

September 17-Agricultural tech research in action at CPAAS industry open house

See how the Center for Precision & Automated Agricultural Systems pioneers new agricultural technology at an open house for its new facility.
The Agricultural Technology Day and open house is noon to 3:30 p.m., Thursday, September 17, at the Irrigated Agriculture Research & Extension Center‘s Ag Technology Building in Prosser.

The event lets growers and industry professionals interact with the CPAAS team and see tech highlights, such as an apple picking robot, phenotyping equipment, and ground sensing technologies for crop management.

Certified crop adviser continuing education units are available. Register before Sept. 10 by contacting Lav R. Khot (lav.khot@wsu.edu; 509-786-9302) or Linda Root (lsfleming@wsu.edu; 509-786-9235).

September 23-Webinar examines biofuel views, industry’s future

Advanced Hardwood Biofuels Northwest hosts a webinar, 10 to 11 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 23, titled “Stakeholder interests and perceptions of bioenergy in the Pacific Northwest.” It’s aimed at landowners, environmental professionals, and Extension professionals. Register here.

November 21-Master gardeners host Ready Set Grow conference

The Master Gardener Association of Chelan County hosts the Master Gardener Fall 2015 Education Conference, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Best Western Plus Icicle Inn in Leavenworth, Wash.

WSU Extension experts, Master Gardeners, naturalists and industry professionals, will present on native plants, pollinators, landscape photography, organic vs. inorganic mulch, vegetable gardening, and automated and precision agriculture. Register here.