Tag Archives: plant health

Meet the Team: Summer Update

July 31, 2023 scherrm Leave a comment

The Gravel Pad update you’ve been waiting for, and more!

There’s so much going on in the season of plenty around NWREC! Enjoy this virtual tour of a few projects around the nursery.

Dalyn has been continuing her work with mini-lysimeters that control irrigation in shade trees – these tiny scales weigh the potted plants and use the change in weight as they dry to determine when to turn on the water. The lysimeters are gathering data on plant weight along with an on-site weather station to better understand the relationship between heat and irrigation in gravel pad production. Read more about this project here.

View of gravel pad with potted maple trees — Young red maple trees on the gravel pad are using lysimeters to monitor water loss in conjunction with a dedicated weather station (left).

The Willamette Valley has had a few HOT summers in a row, even though lately this one has been pretty mild. Nevertheless, we haven’t given up on finding solutions for heat mitigation – including growing ornamentals under drought conditions to see which are the most “climate-ready” to meet changing needs. We’ll be asking the public to evaluate those plants in the upcoming Climate-Ready Field Day, come along and see how the plants are progressing (click the link above for more info).

In addition, we’re evaluating different means of mitigating the heat and the resultant high rates of evapotranspiration (basically ways to reduce plant sweat), from misting the young plants to covering tissues with kaolin, introducing fungicides that may be beneficial in managing water loss, using white pots instead of the traditional black, and even growth inhibitors – it’s been a pretty amazing feat to monitor the effects as you can see- check out this monitoring station!

Jaiden, Lloyd and Dalyn at the ET monitoring station with shade trees — Dalyn, Lloyd and summer hire Jaiden show off the monitoring station in the heat stress/evapotranspiration mitigation study.

young flowering shrubs in alternating black and white pots — Does the color of the pot change the heat stress for these water-loving shrubs on the gravel pad?

A small project growing marigolds for festivals and holidays – like Dia de los Muertos – is also underway. Growing the marigolds has certainly brightened up the Nursery Zone at NWREC, and we’ve progressed into evaluating passive means to dry the flowers, saving energy and resources while preserving the gorgeous summer color.

There’s even more in the works – stay tuned for information about fall workshops and PACE courses created specifically for nursery and greenhouse production for topics covering drone sprays, integrated pest management, and more.

IPM, Plant Health

Registration Open!

March 17, 2023 scherrm Leave a comment

Click here register.

IPM, Irrigation, Meet The Team, Plant Health

Meet the Team: WINTER UPDATE

March 2, 2023 scherrm Leave a comment

Lloyd Nackley

At the Western Region International Plant Propagators Society (IPPS), the Pacific Northwest Insect Management Conference (PNWIMC), and the Orchard Pest and Disease Management Conference (OPDMC) last month, we presented cutting-edge research and advancements in our field. Our presentations at the Western Region IPPS and PNWIMC focused on the latest developments in sensor-controlled irrigation, and flatheaded borer management, respectively.

Dr. Melissa Scherr Presents at the PNWIMC in Portland

At the Orchard Pest and Disease Management Conference, we discussed the latest techniques in IPM for managing powdery mildew with biological fungicides applied by our laser-guided Intelligent Sprayer system. Through our presentations at these conferences, we aim to advance the knowledge and understanding of plant health in our field and to promote collaboration among professionals. By sharing our research and engaging in discussions with our peers, we strive to advance the science of horticultural production to support the growth and success of the horticulture in the Pacific Northwest region.

The buses meet our Horticulture Team at NWREC

At NWREC, we have been working on our new hydroponic greenhouse project. However, since October we have encountered construction challenges in connecting the natural gas heaters, which has impacted the growth of crops such as lettuce, tomatoes, and cucumbers. As a result, lettuce growth has been slow and plagued by Botrytis, and warmer-growing crops like tomatoes and cucumbers have fared even worse. We are working to resolve the permitting issues with the heaters as soon as possible and look forward to updating you on the progress of the greenhouse project in the coming year.

Meet The Team

Meet the Team: Unmanned Aerial Systems

February 8, 2023 scherrm Leave a comment

Sadie Keller

Unmanned Aerial Systems applications in agriculture have interested me from the time I saw some trial flights at the World Ag Expo in Tulare, California in 2020. The possibilities of crop mapping, using multispectral imagery to create NDVI data, and optimizing resources seemed
endless. And while all of this is still true, I have learned over the last couple years that there is a lot more to it than just getting out the drone and flying it over a field.

Dalyn McCauley, captured in a 2022 drone image

In the Fall quarter of 2022, I was able to take a class on campus from Dr. Michael Wing called “Unmanned Aerial Systems Remote Sensing. In this course I was able to get some hands-on experience flying a DJI Phantom 4, a DJI Matrice 200, and a DJI Matrice 300. We also were able to take aerial imagery with a MicaSense Altum multispectral and thermal camera attached to the DJI Matrice 300 and analyze that data during the course of the class. To analyze the data we learned how to use AgiSoft Metashape photogrammetry software to make orthomosaics of our area of interest. With the orthomosaics, we were able to perform different sorts of analysis using ArcGIS Pro software and R. This class really gave me a solid introduction to the collection and analysis of aerial imagery.

The DJI matrice 210 with a zen muse xt2 camera flying over red maples

With some knowledge under my belt after taking that course, I decided to look into taking the Part 107 Certification exam to obtain my FAA administered Remote Pilot License. The purpose of this certification is to be able to fly a drone for commercial, government, or any other non-
recreational purposes. In the Nackley Lab, we have access to a DJI Matrice 210 quadcopter and a MicaSense Red-Edge M camera so I wanted to be able to open up some more avenues for research by being able to pilot this drone for our lab!

DJI matrice 300 with a micasense altum camera

In our lab, a lot of our work centers around major challenges to the nursery production industry in Oregon. Working with a drone can allow you to survey a large area for early signs of drought stress, nutrient deficiencies, or pests to minimize a loss in yield. Now that I have the Remote Pilot Certification, my goal is to help our lab create more aerial imagery (data) that ties into our work which addresses major challenges to nursery production in Oregon like irrigation application, pest management, plant nutrition, and climate adaptations.

Thinking about getting a Remote Pilot Certification? Here are Sadie’s tips for Studying (click here).

For more information about the part 107 certification or UAS applications feel free to contact me
@ kellesad@oregonstate.edu.

Other great OSU resources:
BEAV UAS Program – Dr. Kristine Bucklin and Dr. Lloyd Nackley
Aerial Information Systems Laboratory – Dr. Michael Wing

IPM, Plant Health

Plant Health: Sensor-controlled sprayers for specialty crop production

January 26, 2023 scherrm Leave a comment

NEW PUBLICATION!

Recently our own Brent Warneke wrote another great article for Sprayers 101 covering the Intelligent Sprayer System – check it out here: https://sprayers101.com/airblast-sensors/

Want a preview? Here’s a synopsis:

Air-blast sprayers are versatile, reliable, and can be modified to fit numerous types of crops, all of which are reasons for their continued popularity. Yet despite their popularity, air-blast sprayers have long had a reputation for inefficient application characteristics. Sensor controlled spray systems reduce labor costs and pesticide waste. Recently, they are receiving renewed interest as their reliability has improved and more options have become available. There are two main types of sensor sprayers:

+ On/off sensor sprayers
+ Crop adapting sprayers

A classic low-profile axial airblast sprayer.

Sensor types
Infrared sensors: The inability to resolve characteristics of plant structure makes IR sensors suited to less complex applications such as triggering
the sprayer on and off at a plant. Additionally, these systems can be used for herbicide sprayers where the sensors are aimed at the trunks of trees/vines and turn off the sprayer as they pass the trunk or to target it for the purpose of sucker sprays.

Ultrasonic sensors: using multiple sensors, it’s possible to collect canopy volume data with similar accuracy to taking manual measurements. These are typically used on canopy sprayers with around 3 sensors per side of the sprayer.

Laser sensors (LiDAR): Provides the most accurate measurements of plant structure (mm resolution). Only one sensor needed for accurate measurement.

Plant fluorescence sensors: These have a spatial resolution between ultrasonic sensors and LiDAR sensors. Most commonly used on “weed-seeing” herbicide sprayers but also on canopy sprayers. All sensor sprayers must have a speed sensor to synch the sprayer ground speed to the sensor system.

Spraying with sensor sprayers
Insect pest and disease control with sensor controlled sprayers has
been widely shown to be similar to that of standard sprayers. Control can be achieved on those crops with spray volume savings from 20-70% depending on the sensor system used and crop spray volume savings are higher in crops with more variability labor savings, less pesticide release into the environment, tractor wear, and driver fatigue are also reduced as the sprayer is in operation for less time.

Sensor sprayers can result in 20% to over 90% less spray drift. Autonomous sensor sprayers companies are currently developing and selling autonomous sprayer units that drive themselves and can be integrated with sensors.

Illustration of on/off sensor sprayers (A) and canopy adapting sensor sprayers (B). Sensors are illustrated with red ovals and sensor field of view illustrated with grey shaded washes.

IPM, Irrigation, Meet The Team, Plant Health

Meet the Team: The Bounty of a Season

December 5, 2022 scherrm Leave a comment

Success in Summer 2022

For the past few years we’ve limited gatherings on the farm due to COVID-19 restrictions. In the summer of 2022, however, we were finally able to welcome the public back for Nursery Program Field Days. We’d like to take this opportunity to boast about a few of our highlights from the last several months.

Sadie Keller presenting to growers — Sadie Keller discusses shade tree physiology

For the first time, the Nackley Nursery Production team was an official stop on the Oregon Association of Nurseries Farwest Innovative Production Grower Tour. Our portion of the tour at NWREC showcased sensor-controlled irrigation, heat-stress mitigation techniques, LiDAR smart-sprayer systems, and practices that can reduce boxwood blight spread, and methods of scouting and monitoring insects in nurseries and greenhouses. These projects offer a wide range of savings for growers.: up to 80% improvement in irrigation efficiency, up to 70% reduction in sprayed pesticides, and a significant reduction in boxwood blight infection.

image shows participants examining landscape plants — Stakeholders evaluating climate-readiness of various landscape ornamentals

The second big event was an open house for our Climate Ready Landscape Plant trial, the largest coordinated landscape plant irrigation trial in the Western US. Plant professionals from around the region came to rate plants and discuss how we, as a society, are going to maintain healthy landscapes while faced with increasing extreme weather.

Ongoing projects that will continue this year include, research by our graduate student Sadie Keller, who is investigating Oak and Maple drought tolerance. This summer, Sadie shared her preliminary findings with scientists at the American Society for Horticultural Science, in Chicago.

Sadie Keller and Lloyd Nackley at the ASHS Meeting in Chicago.

In addition, Dr. Melissa Scherr continues our research on the Pacific Flatheaded beetle, with the anticipation of a grower event hosted at NWREC discussing current research on Flathead Borer biology and control this coming April – 2023.

Meet The Team

People: Oregon bound and down; From the land of sun to the land of clouds

July 5, 2022 scherrm Leave a comment

Brent Warneke

Brent inside the west cave of Monkey Face, Smith Rock State Park.

I grew up in Littleton, Colorado amid the suburbs of Denver. Although I was a suburb kid, I grew up gardening from an early age, which sparked my love for plants. Going with what I was interested in, I decided to pursue a degree in something plant related at Colorado State University. I ended up studying horticulture, but took a wide range of classes including brewing technology, microbiology, biochemistry and business. Throughout my time at CSU I worked in a couple different lab groups, one that studied biofuel production and another that was focused on cryopreservation of vegetatively propagated crops. Working in the labs got me interested in science. I took a plant pathology course my senior year and loved how it was an integration of things I had learned in horticulture, microbiology, and other sciences.

Eventually I obtained my BS in Horticultural Science and a minor in Business Administration at CSU. I had such a good time learning about science and working in labs that I decided to pursue graduate school. I looked at a few universities throughout the USA but the prospect of working on specialty crops (fruits and nuts) had me more excited than working on field crops. I ended up landing at Oregon State University in the Botany and Plant Pathology Department. The project I worked on had me investigating fungicide resistance and grape powdery mildew management and I was fortunate to travel to many vineyards throughout the state to take samples and work with growers. Over the course of my Master’s degree I was able to present data from my research at two national plant pathology conferences, one in Tampa, FL and the other in San Antonio, TX, two places I had never been before. These experiences were very useful to hone my science communication skills which I use a lot in my current position.

Brent at Glacier Lake while backpacking in the Eagle Cap wilderness.

After I finished my MS degree I started my current position working on the Intelligent Sprayer project at OSU with Drs. Lloyd Nackley and Jay Pscheidt. The part of the project I fit into investigates using the Intelligent Sprayer to manage grape powdery mildew with various fungicide regimes and investigating sprayer coverage in hazelnut and nursery crops. This has been a great fit for me as I have been able to apply what I learned during my MS and strengthen my research and writing skills. As with all agriculture, we come up with a plan every year and have ideas about how everything will go, but something always surprises us. During the season it’s always a push to collect all the data we need, but when the season is over it is very interesting to sit down, go through the data, and make graphs and connections as to how the treatments we applied fared. Writing up the data into informative reports, and in doing so, making connections to past literature while abstracting it into the future is another part of the process that makes me love what I do.

The 50 gallon air-blast sprayer retrofitted with the Intelligent Spray System connected to a Kubota M5-111 tractor that powers the unit.

I’ve been fortunate to live in two different states that are great for my outdoor oriented lifestyle. I grew up camping, fishing, backpacking, canoeing and skiing in Colorado. I have since gotten into rock climbing, rafting and kayaking, and hunting in Oregon, and especially love spending time on the Oregon coast. If I were to give some advice to someone following a similar career path to me I would tell them to always be open to opportunities and to get out of their comfort zone regularly.

Meet The Team

People: A Career Path as the Crow – Or the Raven – Flies

May 2, 2022 scherrm Leave a comment

Raven Hartley

I spent my childhood in western New York where my mom took us hiking, mushroom foraging, and taught us how to identify the deciduous trees around us. We moved to Oregon when I was 10 and not much has changed except the forests were now coniferous and we learned to brave the rain. My love of plants and ecology was sparked during these weekend trips as I learned how all organisms are interconnected.

Raven taking leaf measurement with a Licor-600 at NWREC.

When I started my undergraduate degree, I had no idea what I wanted to do and jumped from major to major. After 2 years at community college, I transferred to Oregon State University and landed on marine biology. During this time, I had the opportunity to be a research assistant in Utila, Honduras for Operation Wallacea and lead scientific dives for PhD student Nadia Jogee. Through this experience I realized my love of problem solving that goes along with field research, but despite my enjoyment I felt that marine biology wasn’t quite what I wanted for a career.

Once the pandemic hit and I was suddenly home all the time, I started to collect house and landscape plants to improve my living space. I had a lot of fun learning to care for them and read up on nutrient needs, soil types, watering, pruning, and propagation. A lot of this information I found in extension articles that led me to the College of Agricultural Science at OSU. I now have research experiments that focus on improving plant care and management practices in nursery production systems.

I’m now in the last term of my undergraduate degree in Horticulture and am fortunate to have been in the accelerated master’s platform (AMP) for the last year, with Dr. Lloyd Nackley and Dr. Ryan Contreras as co-advisors. This program has allowed me to get a head start on my graduate coursework and field research with the support of my advisors and other faculty. I have gotten to learn so much in the last year from propagating cuttings, to finishing plants, best management practices, and so much more. I also get valuable lab experience working for Dr. Carolyn Scagel at the USDA-ARS Horticulture Crops Research Lab where I have assisted with tissue collection, water sampling and nutrient and data analysis to aid in her plant physiology research. My favorite part of research is getting to work outside to conduct experiments and getting to work alongside so many great and knowledgeable people!

Helping People. Helping Plants