Highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) is adapted to soils with high organic matter and acidic pH. Composts provide organic matter and nutrients for growing blueberry in mineral soils, but many composts are high in pH and soluble salts. Acidification with elemental sulfur (S°) can remedy high pH, but the process...
A major constraint to the production of self-rooted wine grapes (Vitis vinifera) in eastern Washington is plant-parasitic nematodes. Plant-parasitic nematodes can impact grape productivity by limiting water and nutrient uptake, educing physiological changes, and extracting plant nutrients from roots, thereby reducing root biomass, plant vigor, and yield. The most commonly...
A 0.4 ha planting of blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) was established in Oct. 2006 to evaluate the effects of cultivar (Duke and Liberty), planting method (flat versus raised beds), weed management (sawdust mulch and hand-weed control; compost plus sawdust mulch with acetic acid, flaming, and hand-weeding used as needed; and...
The use of cover crops in young vineyards is not widely accepted in the Pacific Northwest due to concerns of water and nutrient competition between the cover crop and vines. The last 2 years of a 4-year study started in 2009 are reported here. The study evaluated the use of...
Legume cover crops can serve as important sources of nitrogen (N) in sustainable agriculture and can be economically beneficial when fertilizer inputs are reduced without a yield reduction. Synchronizing N mineralization from organic materials with the needs of the subsequent crop is a challenge for organic growers.
Predicting plant available...
The study was conducted in an organic trailing blackberry (Rubus L. subgenus Rubus, Watson) planting established at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora, OR on 26 May 2010. Three weed management systems were compared for 'Marion' and 'Black Diamond': 1) non-weeded; 2) hand-hoed two to three times...
Cover crop establishment in late-season crops, like sweet corn, may be difficult due to the relatively short operational window following crop harvest. In regions like western Oregon, where fall-precipitation can occur when the crop is still in the field, cover crops may not be able to be planted, due to...
Root rot of sweet corn in western Oregon and Washington is a significant disease that
can reduce yield of intolerant cultivars of processed sweet corn by fifty percent. Root rot
is caused by a complex of soilborne organisms, including Drechslera sp., Phoma
terrestris, and Pythium arrhenomanes. Processors have adopted tolerant...
The effect of serial (multiple-year) organic matter (OM) amendment on soil properties has been described in some cropping systems, although less is known about the effect of serially amended field soils on soil-borne plant diseases. The objectives of this study were to describe the effects of the third and fourth...
Northern highbush blueberry is a long-lived perennial crop that is well adapted to low soil pH conditions. The plants are often shallow rooted and absorb primarily the ammonium (NH₄) form of nitrogen (N) rather than nitrate-N (NO₃-N). Traditionally, commercial blueberry fields have been irrigated with overhead sprinklers and fertilized using...