Tag Archives: Aayusha Subedi

Very thankful for the opportunities I received this summer!

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Rows of young hemp plants on black weed barrier.
Hemp plants when they were first planted two months ago.
Photo credit: Aayusha Subedi

Hello! I am Aayusha Subedi from the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center (SOREC) here in Jackson County. This summer has gone by in the blink of an eye, and I cannot believe I am at the end of my internship. Over the past two months, I have learned many new things and have created many lasting memories.

In mid-July I prepped over 150-plus grapevine samples for DNA extraction for Grapevine Red Blotch Virus detection. During this time, I also collected pear tree samples for my pear disease diagnosis project. I prepped and plated samples for the experiment, which was to identify why the pear trees were dying in the first place. I had been tasked to write a lab report on this experiment and its outcomes. In August, I worked on a hemp disease management trial. For this trial, I planted 60 hemp plants and monitored them for a month, observing them for any symptoms. I also went to a hemp farm multiple times this summer because a similar experiment was being conducted there as well. Towards the end of this internship, I worked on completing my report.

Rows of hemp plants.
Hemp plants now.
Photo credit: Anupa Gaire

Two highlights from this summer as an intern were picking blackberries with other interns and going on a treehopper collection excursion. The treehopper collecting was surprisingly fun; however, they are hard critters to catch (like the name suggests they like to hop away a lot). They were being collected as a part of a Grapevine red blotch virus detection experiment.  I also enjoyed walking around the garden located close by.

I am incredibly grateful for being able to take part in this program. Going into this position I was unsure about what to expect. One main thing I have learned a lot about is Grapevine red blotch virus and its effects on grapevines. This experience also taught me a lot about standard lab procedures and how to engage with others in a laboratory setting.

Now that I have completed my time here as an intern, I want to give my thanks to my wonderful supervisor Achala KC. I want to thank her for allowing me to work in her lab and for inviting me into the field of plant pathology. I would like to thank the amazing people who work at the SOREC, such as Anupa Gaire and Joey Deshields for helping me around the lab. I am truly thankful to have been able to receive this opportunity this year. This is an experience that will remain with me in the future. I hope to be able to come back and do this again. Once again thank you to everyone who helped make this internship and summer an incredible experience!

Developing a meaningful experience

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Two people wearing mud boots stand at the edge of a field
Jasmin Lama and Aayusha Subedi (right) administering various fungicides to hemp plants on a local farm.
Photo credit: Achala KC

Hello, my name is Aayusha Subedi, and I am an Oregon State University Extension Service intern in Jackson County. I am a high school junior, and this is my first year working as an Extension intern. I am working in a plant pathology lab at the Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in Central Point, Ore. with Achala KC, an Extension plant pathologist and assistant professor in the College of Agricultural Sciences, and her team. I am extremely excited to be taking part in this amazing opportunity. I am looking forward to learning about plant pathology research and exploring the commercial fields this summer.

Four people stand in front of a sunny vineyard.
Left to right, Aayusha Subedi, Jasmin Lama, Anupa Gaire, and Achala KC at the Woodhall vineyards in Monroe, OR.
Photo Credit: Aayusha Subedi

Throughout this internship, I will be working with another intern, Jasmin Lama. We will be conducting several projects, including pear disease diagnosis, hemp disease management, and grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) detection. Within the first week, we started testing some treatments for hemp at a local farm. Furthermore, I was able to attend a OSU Extension Southern Oregon Pear Field Day, an Extension event organized by KC on July 6, where the participants were able to learn about all the different ways local and commercial farms operate and combat diseases such as fire blight on pears. My favorite part of this day was to tour the TreeTop processing factory in Medford. It was amazing to witness the fruit-processing journey and visit the farms in the community. On Friday July 7, we traveled to the Woodhall vineyard in Monroe, Ore., to collect 176 samples for grapevine trunk disease management research. A graduate research assistant, Anupa Gaire, is conducting a study as a part of her master’s program. It has been a unique experience helping her with the extensive process of collecting, processing and plating samples.

I am grateful to be an OSU Extension Intern and I cannot wait to learn and help this summer!

Learning how to solve pear and grapevine disease

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A cross section of a pear tree root.
Observing the root of a pear tree for symptoms.
Photo credit: Aayusha Subedi

Hello, I am Jasmin Lama, OSU Extension Service’s intern this summer in Jackson County. I am an upcoming junior in high school, and this experience is surreal, especially being able to work in the plant pathology lab in the OSU Southern Oregon Research and Extension Center in Central Point. I will be working alongside another intern, Aayusha Subedi; our supervisor Achala KC; and OSU graduate research assistant, Anupa Gaire. I’m very enthusiastic about this internship as this area of science is something I’ve always been interested in.

This summer, I’ll be working and assisting on three projects. My main project is disease diagnosis on pears, where we collected samples of dead, live and intermediate pear trees and plated them to observe what caused the pear trees to die. Towards the end of the internship, we are to complete a lab report on this project. Last week, I participated in a Pear Field Day where we went throughout the county and learned about other researchers and their processes. For example, our center expanded on the research that fire blight causes to pear trees and the process of treating it other than antibiotics. We even got the opportunity to visit Tree Top’s factory! It was incredible to see the processing of fruit.

Looking down rows of grapevines across a valley toward the trees.
The view from OSU’s Woodhall Vineyard in Monroe, Oregon.
Photo credit: Jasmin Lama.

The second project is grapevine red blotch virus (GRBV) detection in which we will be processing grapevine samples to assist with GRBV detection using molecular tools such as DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The third project is hemp management in which we will be assisting a neighboring hemp farmer. There are five treatments we are testing over 45 plants in one field and 60 plants in another. We will also be assisting Anupa Gaire on her grapevine trunk disease management research. Up to this point, we have collected samples from two different fields. On July 7, we traveled to the Woodhall Vineyard located outside of Corvallis and collected 176 samples that were treated with different fungicides to test the efficacy of products to manage the disease.

I am so excited to see what I will learn more throughout this internship and continue my projects. Even though it has only been a few weeks, I have learned so much already and I’m thrilled to see what the next month brings!