Nursery and greenhouse operators face an ever-increasing set of opportunities and challenges. Few are more daunting, or more of a game changer, than pest and disease issues. Oregon has a stellar reputation of producing quality plant material, which is shipped throughout the Pacific Northwest, the nation and internationally. Faced with uncertainty regarding the spread of […]
OSU and USDA Nursery Working Group
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There are many programs at Oregon State University (OSU) and the USDA-ARS- Horticulture Crops Research Laboratory that focus on nursery, greenhouse, landscape and related crops. Here are some of the people and their programs that impact the ornamental industry of Oregon. Neil Bell evaluates landscape plants for drought tolerance and cold hardiness in western Oregon. […]
Testing the waters
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How to test your irrigation system for the presence of Phythophthora By Neelam R. Redekar and Jennifer L. Parke Phytophthora is a fungus-like organism — called a water mold — that can infect a wide variety of nursery plant species. One of the ways it can spread is through irrigation water. Depending on size, a […]
Emerging threats to conifer foliage
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Growers and nurseries should be on the lookout for these diseases By Jared LeBoldus, Dave Shaw, and Paul Reeser Two new foliage diseases of Douglas fir and several other conifer species are emerging in Oregon, and they could be a threat to conifer growers and nurseries. The pathogens include Phytophthora pluvialis, the cause of Pytophthora […]
Heroes and villains
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Research identifies harmful and beneficial microbes in nursery soil Four years ago, we received funding from the Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative to study the interaction of soil-borne pathogens and environment on nursery plant health and disease control (Digger, July 2015). Since then, we have made significant progress in identifying the beneficial and pathogenic microbes […]
The sudden oak death epidemic in Oregon
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Oregon nurseries are increasingly threatened by the repeated expansion of the sudden oak death (SOD) epidemic in Curry County. Although this epidemic is geographically far away from the main nursery production areas, the continued expansion of the SOD quarantine area and the newly discovered introduced EU1 clone are distinct threats to the nursery industry. What […]
Slow sand filters
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This traditional method of water purification was tested for its effectiveness at removing two common greenhouse pathogens, Phytophthora and Fusarium.
Researchers look at thermal weed control
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Researchers look to control weeds in greenhouse propagation systems with steam and hot water
Working smarter, not harder
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OSU Extension Service offers programs designed to increase knowledge among nursery workers, thereby increasing their productivity.
Soilborne diseases of nursery crops
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USDA-ARS and OSU team up to tackle this pernicious problem