Integrated Pest Management Summit Reveals Barriers, Needs, and Goals for Agricultural Extension

Integrated pest management (IPM) continues to be an area of great importance for agricultural Extension. However, there are barriers to implementation. To advance understanding of current status, barriers, and needs in IPM Extension, we organized a 1-day IPM summit for Oregon State University agricultural Extension faculty. Over 50 faculty attended from various departments and programs. We report on the process and highlight the top barriers, needs, and goals revealed. We hope to stimulate similar meetings among other agricultural Extension professionals and enhance Extension professionals\u27 collective understanding of barriers to IPM to reveal pathways for progress

Pest Risk Assessment for Feral Pigs in Oregon

Feral pigs, wild boars, and hybrids either currently inhabit, or have been successfully introduced to every continent except Antarctica, and many oceanic islands. There are thirteen current known localities of feral pigs in Oregon (see Appendix A), distributed in various locations in southern and central Oregon. The biology of feral pigs indicates that these animals are capable of inhabiting virtually all available habitat west of the Cascade mountains, and the majority of the habitat east of the Cascades, with preference for riparian regions. Reports of feral pig biology and ecology in other regions in the United States, as well as around the world, give no indication of any limits to distribution, with the exception of high elevations

Temporal changes in the feeding habits of bullfrogs from three different habitat types in the Willamette Valley, Oregon

Bullfrogs were introduced into Oregon in the early 1900s and have become widespread members of many wetland communities. Little is known of their ecology outside their native range, although they may play a role in the current declines observed in native herpetofauna. I analyzed the diets of 401 bullfrogs from one permanent and two ephemeral ponds at William L. Finley National Wildlife Refuge between May and September of 2001 and 2002 in order to better understand the breadth of bullfrog diets and feeding strategies exhibited at both the individual and population levels. A 1m3 sampling cube was used to obtain a density estimate of the available prey items in the pond environment. This data was compared to the stomach content data with a series of Spearman rank correlation analyses. Stomach contents were analyzed numerically and by mass so as to obtain an estimation of bullfrogs' impact on their community (numerical data) and the importance of prey items to bullfrogs (mass data). Arthropods dominated the numerical analysis. Although vertebrates were often numerically insignificant, when present they comprised the largest percentage of their respective samples. Amphibians were observed in the diets of bullfrogs from the ephemeral ponds, often comprising at least 40% of the pooled stomach contents for each sampling period. The most common amphibians in bullfrog diets from these ponds were larval anurans. Juvenile bullfrog diets (<76mm SVL) were restricted to terrestrial and aquatic arthropods, while adult bullfrogs exhibited a broader diet, consuming molluscs and various vertebrates in addition to arthropods. Feeding strategy analyses indicated that bullfrogs are generalist predators at the individual level. Some feeding specialization was observed at the individual level, but this was attributed to patchy distribution of resources in the pond environment. The results of the Spearman rank correlation analyses lent support to these findings

Performance of Welker, Haines and other advanced selections in regional trials

Abstract. The objective of this study was to assess advanced selections from Rutgers cranberry breeding program, along with recently released cultivars, for their performance in different cranberry growing regions. Results are presented from trials in New Jersey, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Washington. The trials were evaluated for plant vigor, yield, berry weight, fruit rot, other relevant diseases, and fruit chemistry (TAcy, Brix, titratable acidity and proanthocyanidin). Differences were found between locations in cranberry performance. Fruit in the Pacific Northwest (PNW) is smaller (a trial mean of 1.3g/berry) compared to NJ (2.3g). The Oregon trial had the highest mean TAcy (73mg/100g fruit) and Brix (10.1% soluble solids) of any growing region. Wisconsin trials typically exhibit the highest yields. Although highly variable, Wisconsin also had less fruit rot (a trial mean of 4.4% rotted fruit), especially compared to New Jersey (35%). Differences were apparent between locations in cultivar performance as well. Welker, for example, had exceptional establishment and high early yields, but was more susceptible to fruit rot and would not be as well suited to the Northeast. Our breeding program continues to address the changing needs of the cranberry industry, including increasing fruit rot resistance (FRR), climatic adaptation (heat stress), and varieties suited for current major products, e.g., sweetened dried cranberries (SDC). For example, the fruit color criteria has changed for some SDC’s processes (i.e. very high Tacy is unacceptable), making later ripening selections such as NJS98-11 better suited for high TAcy growing regions, e.g., PNW. In Oregon, NJS98-11 had a mean TAcy of 28mg/100g fruit, compared to Stevens at 70mg/100g FW or Scarlet Knight, 191mg/100g FW. Increasing fungicide restrictions and fruit rot pressure has made the development of FRR cultivars a high priority. Promising first generation FRR breeding selections have been developed and are performing well in WA, WI, and NJ trials. Second and 3rd breeding cycle populations derived from FRR selections have now been planted in three locations