News for the Horticulture Department
In the News





The IR-4 Project is pleased to announce the winners of the 2022 SOAR Award.
Eastern filbert blight has historically been a curse to the Pacific Northwest hazelnut industry. That is, until Oregon State University released several blight-resistant varieties.



According to Jim Meyers, horticulture professor at Oregon State University, tomatoes, squash and melons establish deep root systems quickly and draw moisture from deeper soil long after the soil surface has become dry in midsummer.

This episode explores the concept of emergence through the lens of a Margherita pizza.

Oregon State University Pollinator Health Extension Specialist Andony Melathopoulos prefers to call the stinging insects by their less sensationalized name: giant Asian hornets.

Pacific Northwest radicchio farmers want to boost domestic markets for the crop and foster the exchange of information with Italian farmers, seed companies and breeders.





Dry farming was more prevalent before farmers turned to irrigation, said Amy Garrett, president of the Dry Farming Institute and Oregon State University Extension small farms programs instructor.






These and other developments have cast a sudden spotlight on turfgrass management, an important and often-overlooked field of study, and the innovators behind it — people like Alec Kowalewski, Oregon State University turfgrass specialist.



Oregon State University researchers have been awarded a $500,000 USDA grant to study more than 100 plants to find which provide honey bees with the highest nutritional value.

Using a combination of science and diplomacy, researcher Ed Peachey convinces chemical companies to make weed-killing products available for such high-value, niche crops.

Chip Bubl, associate professor and horticulturist at Oregon State University Extension Service, has been giving vegetable gardening advice for many years and offers up some tips about mid-summer feeding for plants.





I started thinking of purple vegetables as I was transplanting the purple colored seedlings of Midnight Roma, the new purple roma tomato from Oregon State University tomato breeder, Dr. J Meyers. Midnight Roma was released in 2021.



OSU Extension Viticulture Assistant Professor, Dr. Alec Levin found the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Agrimet, where many growers get their water recommendations, suggested irrigation 44% higher than necessary.






The new Oregon State University-developed tomato Midnight Roma follows in the steps of 10-year-old Indigo Rose, the first antioxidant-rich purple tomato available on the market.


The new Oregon State University-developed tomato Midnight Roma follows in the steps of 10-year-old Indigo Rose, the first antioxidant-rich purple tomato available on the market.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded study is published in the journal Scientific Reports and is the result of a research collaboration between entomologists at Oregon State University and North Carolina State University.




An Oregon State University researcher, in partnership with area hazelnut and blueberry growers, is testing a novel means of killing weeds — he’s zapping them with high-voltage electricity.



Nichole Sanchez, Oregon State University Extension Service horticulturist, tells gardeners to plan before choosing seed. It’s so easy to go overboard. Of course, if you do there’s always someone happy to take them off your hands.



An experimental cider orchard planted in the rich farmland of the Willamette Valley could help lead Oregon’s fledgling hard cider industry into a profitable future.

Melathopoulos leads Oregon State University Extension's statewide pollinator health program and is an assistant professor. Agricultural experts say he's one of the nation's most remarkable innovators in the world of bees.


Silvia Rondon, Oregon State University Extension entomology specialist, recently received a $162,794 USDA Specialty Crop Block Grant to explore chlorpyrifos alternatives.



Nine experts from Oregon State University Extension Service stepped up to bust some common gardening myths. Read on to get some research-based answers to 10 common misconceptions.

With a sad and heavy heart, we announce the passing of Dr. Melvin (Mel) N. Westwood on 31 October 2020.

“If you’re specifically interested in fall color, it will soon be the time to start looking,” said Neil Bell, a horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service. “There are already some trees starting to display color.”



Garlic roots develop in the fall and winter, and by early spring they can support the rapid leaf growth that is necessary to form large bulbs, said Chip Bubl, a horticulturist with Oregon State University’s Extension Service.



“With some of these weeds, you have to fight them forever,” said Ed Peachey, a weed specialist for Oregon State University Extension Service. “Many times, it’s more a process of controlling them rather than eradicating them."



Recent additions to the OSU Extension Catalog
Plants take up nutrients from the soil but when those nutrients are missing, it's time for fertilizer. "Plants pull out nutrients as they grow," said Weston Miller, a horticulturist with Oregon St...
“The Pacific Northwest has more species of wild bees than all the combined states east of the Mississippi, at least 500 and we expect there are many more,” said Melathopoulos, bee specialist for ...