Agricultural Experiment Station

OSU survey highlights weed challenges in Oregon agriculture

Weeds pose a serious threat to Oregon agriculture. They reduce yields, lower seed and grain quality, and can keep shipments from meeting market standards. This challenge is statewide although its impacts vary by region. The ...

Oct 2025 | Impact Story

Oregon State research shows how grazing timing affects sagebrush wildlife

The sagebrush ecosystem — a vast, dry landscape that supports hundreds of wildlife species and livelihoods in the West — is shrinking and changing. Livestock grazing is the dominant land-use across much of this ecosystem. ...

Oct 2025 | Impact Story

Oregon State research helps wheat growers manage glyphosate-resistant Russian thistle

Russian thistle (Salsola tragus), also known as tumbleweed, is a persistent summer annual weed and an ongoing challenge for wheat growers in Eastern Oregon. The weed infests nearly 5 million acres across the Pacific Northwest, ...

Oct 2025 | Impact Story

Study finds wine industry waste byproduct stimulates organic blueberry growth in Eastern Oregon

Blueberry production is a major agricultural force in Oregon and Washington. Together, the two states account for roughly 55% of the United States’ cultivated blueberry production, with Washington producing about 29% of the U.S. ...

Sep 2025 | Impact Story

Oregon State researchers develop forecast model for spotted lanternfly

The spotted lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula) is an invasive insect pest that has been spreading rapidly across the United States since its initial detection in Pennsylvania in 2014. It feeds on more than 70 plant species, ...

Sep 2025 | Impact Story

OSU Extension finds solutions for cabbage maggot in Oregon vegetables

In Oregon’s Willamette Valley, cabbage maggot (Delia radicum) causes widespread crop damage and significant economic losses. Root vegetables such as radishes, turnips and rutabagas can’t be sold if they show insect feeding, and ...

Aug 2025 | Impact Story

Extension research leads to change in the management of clover seed weevil

Clover seed weevil is a serious insect pest that impacts Willamette Valley's white clover seed production. Historically, clover seed growers have relied heavily on broad-spectrum pyrethroid insecticides, including bifenthrin, as a ...

Jul 2025 | Impact Story

New OSU study shows persistent airborne spread of carrot disease

In the high desert of Central Oregon, farmers produce some of the world’s most valuable hybrid carrot seed. But their fields face a persistent and costly threat: a plant disease called bacterial blight, caused by the ...

Jul 2025 | Impact Story

Study guides strategic fertilizer and insecticide decisions for onion growers

Dry bulb onions are a vital crop in the Treasure Valley of Eastern Oregon and southwestern Idaho. About 10,000 hectares are planted each year, contributing more than $120 million to the region’s economy. But onion farming is...

Jul 2025 | Impact Story

OSU helps develop high-tech solutions for Pacific Northwest fruit orchards

Pear, cherry and apple production is vital to Oregon’s rural economy, valued at a combined $200 million in 2022. But the industry faces serious challenges: climate change, rising costs, labor shortages and stricter regulations. ...

Jun 2025 | Impact Story