Lisa DeVetter, Assistant Professor, Department of Horticulture, Northwest Research and Extension Center, Mt. Vernon, WA

DeVetter leads the state-wide Small Fruit Horticulture Research and Extension program and is based at the Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center in Mount Vernon, Washington.  Since joining WSU, she has developed a diverse research and extension program with an emphasis on maximizing productivity, fruit quality, and on-farm efficiencies, while ensuring the health of adjacent natural resources critical for small fruit crop production in the Pacific Northwest. The primary crops of focus in her program are blueberry, red raspberry, and strawberry. She will serve as a research mentor and participate in proposed project activities.

Program Description:

Developing machine harvesting systems for fresh market blueberry is a primary research focus in DeVetter’s program. While research and engineering advances on machine harvesting systems are progressing, this needs to be matched with information regarding fruit development in relation to proper harvest timing and intervals for optimal quality and efficiency in Northwest Washington. Furthermore, this data needs to be generated across key commercial cultivars that differ in harvest timing and development. This project may use multispectral imaging with image analysis pipeline to measure and compare fruit development across key cultivars over time in order to inform optimal machine harvesting timing and intervals. The student will gain experience on field data collection, image processing and analysis, and data-driven estimation of harvest timing and intervals.

Location: Pullman, WA (Brief visit to Mt. Vernon, WA)