Academic Report of College of Agricultural Sciences

Cultivating transdisciplinary research to advance the science of sustainable earth ecosystems:

• OSU reduces pesticide usage worldwide The Integrated Plant Protection Center has built free online tools that link nearly 16,000 weather stations across the country to the biology of over 100 pests and plant diseases. This allows farmers to spray at precise times, making pesticide usage more efficient and less taxing on the environment.

• OSU expands pesticide info program A five-year, $5 million grant, funded by the EPA, has enabled OSU’s National Pesticide Information Center to expand its online services. Last year the website had 1.8 million visitors, with 32 million overall hits, and the hotline handled 17,000 phone calls, offering information in over 170 languages.

• OSU breeds drought-resistant wheat varieties: This year, AgSci researchers released two new high-yield, disease-resistant wheat varieties, “Rosalyn” and “Bobtail,” that show resistance to drought, important to growers in the face of a changing climate.
• REACCH assesses impact of changing climate on NW cereal crops Regional Approaches to Climate Change is a 5-year, $20 million project funded by NIFA. John Antle is leading the Modeling component of the project, which will use climate data and crop simulation models to assess impacts and adaptation in Pacific Northwest wheat-growing systems.

• New research shows how climate change impacts disease vectors A new study, led by Taal Levi (Fisheries and Wildlife), suggests that changing climate patterns may be altering the transmission of certain pathogens, including the bacterium that causes Lyme disease.

• Marine Studies Initiative builds on 75 years of research MSI, a new model created to address critical issues facing Oregon and the globe, is strengthened by long-term, highly interdisciplinary research conducted by three AES research units: the Seafood Laboratory in Astoria (established in 1940), the Coastal Oregon Marine Experiment Station, and the Marine Mammal Institute.

• Study finds reduction in harmful emissions Funded by the OSU Superfund Research Program and led by environmental chemist Staci Simonich, a recent study discovered that emission control systems added to a Portland General Electric plant in 2011—which targeted mercury—inadvertently lowered dangerous airborne PAHs.