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Researchers look at robots in horticulture

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A consortium of researchers from universities, private industry and the federal government is taking a new look at how robots could be used in specialty crop production. Several heavy hitters are on board, including Carnegie-Mellon University, so this is an effort to take seriously. One such technology already being used in fruit orchards is called […]

OSU releases new report on Drosophila suzukii

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Oregon State University has released its latest update (PDF) on the spotted-wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii), a dangerous and rapidly-spreading pest that’s new to the United States. This fruit fly attacks fruit still living and growing on the branch, rather than just dropped fruit. Thus, it has the potential to create problems not just for fruit […]

Native plants can solve Willamette Basin problems

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When people think of an unhealthy river, chemical discharges may be first thing that comes to mind, but other conditions in the water can also be a problem for fish and wildlife. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality just released a 650-site assessment of the Willamette River basin which concludes in part that high water […]

Nursery sales down 17 percent

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Nurseries reported decreased year-to-year sales between 2007 and 2008, according to numbers just released by the Oregon office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service, an agency of USDA. Ball and burlap growers were particularly hard hit due to the housing slowdown.

Join the fight against invasives

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The Oregon Invasive Species Council is accepting nominations for four positions on the council that are coming open at the end of the year. The appointing authorities are looking for individuals with expertise in various areas, one of which is nursery production. The Oregon Department of Agriculture has one of the six permanent seats, but […]

Small nurseries hope to pool ideas, resources

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How can small nurseries work cooperatively to become more effective and more profitable? The OAN Small Nurseries Group will meet to discuss this issue at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19 at the Oregon Association of Nurseries, 29751 S.W. Town Center Loop West, Wilsonville, Ore. OAN President-elect Kevin Klupenger, who is a nursery business consultant, will […]

Metro visits with nursery industry representatives

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Metro, the regional planning agency, recently released its recommendations for which parcels immediately surrounding the Portland area should remain rural – and which should be targeted for urban development – over the next 50 years. Any changes in land use would have a huge effect on the nursery industry, which occupies a fair portion of this […]

Metro chief calls for more infill

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Most of the Oregon nursery industry is concentrated in Clackamas, Marion, Washington, Multnomah and Yamhill counties, around the major metropolitan areas of Portland and Salem. Metro manages future planning for the most urbanized portions of three of those counties (Clackamas, Washington, Multnomah). So it was especially noteworthy for nurseries yesterday when Metro Executive Officer Mike […]

Blooming with innovation

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Blooming Nursery is turning to an inexpensive energy source – the sun – to help heat its propagation greenhouses in the winter. The Cornelius, Ore.-based grower, known for its perennials, has contracted with Ra Energy, which will install a solar energy system with 350 collection units. The system will heat some 300,000 gallons of water […]