News
Keynote presentation at ISHS Plant Nutrition Symposium
June 24, 2024
Deirdre was in Wenatchee, WA today giving a keynote presentation at the International Society for Horticultural Science’s (ISHS) Symposium on Plant Nutrition of Fruit Crops. It was great to kick off the conference focusing on what we do and don’t know about soil-plant interactions!
Deirdre was in Wenatchee, WA today giving a keynote presentation at the International Society for Horticultural Science’s (ISHS) Symposium on Plant Nutrition of Fruit Crops. It was great to kick off the conference focusing on what we do and don’t know about soil-plant interactions!
We are recruiting for a PhD graduate research assistant!
June 17, 2024
We are recruiting for a PhD student to conduct buckwheat breeding research and agronomic trials in western WA, working to advance our understanding of how best to leverage the crop potential for benefits to soil health, weed suppression, and pollinator habitat. This position will be Dr. Griffin LaHue and Dr. Kevin Murphy (Sustainable Seed Systems Lab) and be part of an interdisciplinary, multi-institution team. The student will be co-located at WSU’s Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center and the WSU Breadlab in Mount Vernon, WA. Preferred start date is Fall 2024 or Spring 2025. For more info on how to apply check out this flyer.
We are recruiting for a PhD student to conduct buckwheat breeding research and agronomic trials in western WA, working to advance our understanding of how best to leverage the crop potential for benefits to soil health, weed suppression, and pollinator habitat. This position will be Dr. Griffin LaHue and Dr. Kevin Murphy (Sustainable Seed Systems Lab) and be part of an interdisciplinary, multi-institution team. The student will be co-located at WSU’s Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center and the WSU Breadlab in Mount Vernon, WA. Preferred start date is Fall 2024 or Spring 2025. For more info on how to apply check out this flyer.
Lab members presenting at Canadian Society of Soil Science conference
June 10, 2024
PhD student Annah Young and postdoc Luis Reyes Rojas are up in Vancouver BC this week at the Canadian Society of Soil Science conference! Annah is presenting her work evaluating integration of grains and pseudo-grains (buckwheat) into diversified vegetable systems (part of our Soil to Society project), and Luis is presenting preliminary analysis of climatic and management drivers of soil health indicators across WA (part of our State of the Soils Assessment). And congrats to Annah for winning 3rd place for the President’s Award for her excellent poster!
PhD student Annah Young and postdoc Luis Reyes Rojas are up in Vancouver BC this week at the Canadian Society of Soil Science conference! Annah is presenting her work evaluating integration of grains and pseudo-grains (buckwheat) into diversified vegetable systems (part of our Soil to Society project), and Luis is presenting preliminary analysis of climatic and management drivers of soil health indicators across WA (part of our State of the Soils Assessment). And congrats to Annah for winning 3rd place for the President’s Award for her excellent poster!
New publication testing a qPCR method to detect quinoa downy mildew
May 19, 2024
Congratulations to PhD student Evan Domsic and our other co-authors on acceptance of a new paper for publication in Plant Disease. Downy mildew can be a devastating disease in quinoa (as well as other crops), and rapid diagnostic methods are needed to detect the pathogen on seeds and tissue. We worked with plant pathologists to test a DNA-based qPCR method against in-field disease severity ratings from our quinoa trials. Check out the paper here!
Citation: Testen, A., P. Puri, R.S. Shaw, E. Domsic, D. Griffin-LaHue, K. Murphy, C. Mattupalli. A quantitative real-time PCR method to detect the quinoa downy mildew pathogen, Peronspora variabilis. Plant Disease. Accepted. https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PDIS-11-23-2308-RE
Congratulations to PhD student Evan Domsic and our other co-authors on acceptance of a new paper for publication in Plant Disease. Downy mildew can be a devastating disease in quinoa (as well as other crops), and rapid diagnostic methods are needed to detect the pathogen on seeds and tissue. We worked with plant pathologists to test a DNA-based qPCR method against in-field disease severity ratings from our quinoa trials. Check out the paper here!
Citation: Testen, A., P. Puri, R.S. Shaw, E. Domsic, D. Griffin-LaHue, K. Murphy, C. Mattupalli. A quantitative real-time PCR method to detect the quinoa downy mildew pathogen, Peronspora variabilis. Plant Disease. Accepted. https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PDIS-11-23-2308-RE
New publication on nitrogen mineralization in high OM soils
April 24, 2024
We were part of a collaborative paper just published in HortScience that discusses predicting N mineralization rates and fertilization requirements for northern highbush blueberries grown in high organic matter soils. Many blueberries in western WA are grown on peat soils, so how much N might the plants be getting from that organic matter and does it impact recommended fertilizer rates? The collaborative team addressed this question with multi-year on-farm trials and lab incubations. Check out the paper here and you can find out more in this newsletter article.
Citation: Sloan, C., L.W. DeVetter, D. Griffin-LaHue, C. Benedict, D.R. Bryla, G.T. LaHue. Nitrogen supply from soil organic matter: Predictors and implications for nutrient management in northern highbush blueberry. HortScience 59(6), 725-735. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17632-23
We were part of a collaborative paper just published in HortScience that discusses predicting N mineralization rates and fertilization requirements for northern highbush blueberries grown in high organic matter soils. Many blueberries in western WA are grown on peat soils, so how much N might the plants be getting from that organic matter and does it impact recommended fertilizer rates? The collaborative team addressed this question with multi-year on-farm trials and lab incubations. Check out the paper here and you can find out more in this newsletter article.
Citation: Sloan, C., L.W. DeVetter, D. Griffin-LaHue, C. Benedict, D.R. Bryla, G.T. LaHue. Nitrogen supply from soil organic matter: Predictors and implications for nutrient management in northern highbush blueberry. HortScience 59(6), 725-735. https://doi.org/10.21273/HORTSCI17632-23
New {soils} R package launched for generating soil health reports
March 8, 2024
The State of the Soils project team (a collaboration between our lab and scientists at WSDA NRAS) has developed a new R package to automate generation of soil health reports for farmers. The {soils} package code is publicly available so anyone comfortable with using R can import data and automatically generate custom soil health reports with colorful and informative figures. Check out more info here with links to the comprehensive tutorial documentation developed by collaborator Jadey Ryan.
The State of the Soils project team (a collaboration between our lab and scientists at WSDA NRAS) has developed a new R package to automate generation of soil health reports for farmers. The {soils} package code is publicly available so anyone comfortable with using R can import data and automatically generate custom soil health reports with colorful and informative figures. Check out more info here with links to the comprehensive tutorial documentation developed by collaborator Jadey Ryan.
Congrats, Maddy!
March 1, 2024
Congratulations to PhD student Maddy on passing her preliminary exam and advancing to candidacy. She did a great job discussing soil carbon and nitrogen, calculating biosolids land application rates, and discussing potential policies/considerations related biosolids land application. Maddy’s committee members are Dr. Clark Neely, Dr. Tarah Sullivan, and Dr. Jim Ippolito (The Ohio State Universty). Well done, Maddy!
Congratulations to PhD student Maddy on passing her preliminary exam and advancing to candidacy. She did a great job discussing soil carbon and nitrogen, calculating biosolids land application rates, and discussing potential policies/considerations related biosolids land application. Maddy’s committee members are Dr. Clark Neely, Dr. Tarah Sullivan, and Dr. Jim Ippolito (The Ohio State Universty). Well done, Maddy!
Welcome, Dr. Luis Reyes Rojas!
March 1, 2024
We are very happy to welcome Dr. Luis Reyes Rojas to our program as a postdoctoral scholar! Luis specializes in pedometrics and will be working on the State of the Soils Assessment project in collaboration with Dr. Dani Gelardi at the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Luis earned a Soil Science PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted recent research at the University of Chile’s Center of Mathematical Modeling, specializing in remote sensing, machine learning for rock glaciers, and land use/land cover. His PhD focused on digital soil mapping and legacy data rescue in Chile. At the University of Chile, his undergraduate and master’s studies concentrated on the impact of water and saline stress on tree crop evapotranspiration, physiology, growth, and production.
We are very happy to welcome Dr. Luis Reyes Rojas to our program as a postdoctoral scholar! Luis specializes in pedometrics and will be working on the State of the Soils Assessment project in collaboration with Dr. Dani Gelardi at the Washington State Department of Agriculture. Luis earned a Soil Science PhD from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and conducted recent research at the University of Chile’s Center of Mathematical Modeling, specializing in remote sensing, machine learning for rock glaciers, and land use/land cover. His PhD focused on digital soil mapping and legacy data rescue in Chile. At the University of Chile, his undergraduate and master’s studies concentrated on the impact of water and saline stress on tree crop evapotranspiration, physiology, growth, and production.
Featured FFAR newsletter article by Maddy Desjardins
February 29, 2024
PhD student and FFAR Fellow Maddy Desjardins has written a featured article for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Newsletter. Maddy’s article discusses her research on the soil health and agronomic effects of biosolids land application in central Washington grain systems. Well done, Maddy!
PhD student and FFAR Fellow Maddy Desjardins has written a featured article for the Foundation for Food and Agriculture Research Newsletter. Maddy’s article discusses her research on the soil health and agronomic effects of biosolids land application in central Washington grain systems. Well done, Maddy!
Mulch Matters podcast interview
February 1, 2024
Deirdre was interviewed on the Mulch Matters Podcast about the impacts of soil biodegradable plastic mulches and microplastics and soil functioning. This work is part of our USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative projects on Improving End-of-Life Management of Plastic Mulches in Diverse Strawberry Systems.
Deirdre was interviewed on the Mulch Matters Podcast about the impacts of soil biodegradable plastic mulches and microplastics and soil functioning. This work is part of our USDA Specialty Crop Research Initiative projects on Improving End-of-Life Management of Plastic Mulches in Diverse Strawberry Systems.
No-Till Growers Network podcast interview
January 8, 2024
Deirdre sat down with her old friend and colleague Natalie Lounsbury to record a podcast discussing long-term soil health projects, research on some newer potential rotational crops for western Washington, and our work on soil-biodegradable mulches. Check it out here!
Deirdre sat down with her old friend and colleague Natalie Lounsbury to record a podcast discussing long-term soil health projects, research on some newer potential rotational crops for western Washington, and our work on soil-biodegradable mulches. Check it out here!
Soil Science Society of America 2023
November 2, 2023
Another great year attending the TriSocieties meeting, this year in St. Louis, MO. Deirdre presented on Methodological Challenges of Scaling Soil Health Indicator Analyses: Observations from the ‘State of the Soils’ Assessment in Washington, and attended lots of great talks on challenges and considerations of scaling soil health assessments, among other things. And check out this nice example from Endy Lopes Kailer (Kansas State University) of the impact mycorrhizal fungi can have on soil structure.
Another great year attending the TriSocieties meeting, this year in St. Louis, MO. Deirdre presented on Methodological Challenges of Scaling Soil Health Indicator Analyses: Observations from the ‘State of the Soils’ Assessment in Washington, and attended lots of great talks on challenges and considerations of scaling soil health assessments, among other things. And check out this nice example from Endy Lopes Kailer (Kansas State University) of the impact mycorrhizal fungi can have on soil structure.
BioFest 2023
September 28, 2023
PhD student Madeline Desjardins and Deirdre attended BioFest, an annual meeting put on by Northwest Biosolids on beneficial use of biosolids. Madeline presented on her research of the potential impacts of biosolids application to agricultural land on use of cover crops and livestock integration in central WA, and Deirdre presented on soil carbon storage potential in biosolids-applied fields. See more on our biosolids research here.
PhD student Madeline Desjardins and Deirdre attended BioFest, an annual meeting put on by Northwest Biosolids on beneficial use of biosolids. Madeline presented on her research of the potential impacts of biosolids application to agricultural land on use of cover crops and livestock integration in central WA, and Deirdre presented on soil carbon storage potential in biosolids-applied fields. See more on our biosolids research here.
Rocky Mountain Soil Health Roundtable
September 21, 2023
Deirdre attended the Rocky Mountain Soil Health Roundtable in Denver, CO to discuss regional efforts to improve and quantify soil health and incentivize soil health management practices in the western US. She got to learn more about the STAR (Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources) program in Colorado, which is being launched in Washington. Outcomes from roundtable discussions were expertly captured by illustrator Karina Branson at ConverSketch.com. Read the resulting Conference Report and Roadmap here.
Deirdre attended the Rocky Mountain Soil Health Roundtable in Denver, CO to discuss regional efforts to improve and quantify soil health and incentivize soil health management practices in the western US. She got to learn more about the STAR (Saving Tomorrow’s Agricultural Resources) program in Colorado, which is being launched in Washington. Outcomes from roundtable discussions were expertly captured by illustrator Karina Branson at ConverSketch.com. Read the resulting Conference Report and Roadmap here.
Aggregation 2023 (a.k.a. Soil Camp)
September 10, 2023
We spent the last few days at Midnight’s Farm on Lopez Island with a group of 30 farmers, technical support providers (NRCS, National Assoc. of Conservation Districts), state government (WSDA, WA Conservation Commission), and researchers talking all things soil. We focused on state and national policies on soil health and conservation, incentive programs, setting up on-farm trials, and in-field and lab measurements to track changes in soil properties. It was an inspiring way to share ideas, build community, and discuss what more is needed to see progress on these topics. Read more about it here!
We spent the last few days at Midnight’s Farm on Lopez Island with a group of 30 farmers, technical support providers (NRCS, National Assoc. of Conservation Districts), state government (WSDA, WA Conservation Commission), and researchers talking all things soil. We focused on state and national policies on soil health and conservation, incentive programs, setting up on-farm trials, and in-field and lab measurements to track changes in soil properties. It was an inspiring way to share ideas, build community, and discuss what more is needed to see progress on these topics. Read more about it here!
Welcome Annah!
August 16, 2023
We are happy that Annah Young has joined our lab . Previously in the M.S. in Agriculture program, Annah has now switched into the Ph.D. in Soil Science program and will be doing her dissertation research on the soil impacts of integrating cereal and pseudocereal crops (including annual and perennial wheats and buckwheat) in vegetable systems. Before starting at WSU, Annah co-founded City Sprouts Farm in Bellingham, a neighborhood farm that grows mixed vegetables for a CSA and local hunger relief organizations. Welcome to the team, Annah!
We are happy that Annah Young has joined our lab . Previously in the M.S. in Agriculture program, Annah has now switched into the Ph.D. in Soil Science program and will be doing her dissertation research on the soil impacts of integrating cereal and pseudocereal crops (including annual and perennial wheats and buckwheat) in vegetable systems. Before starting at WSU, Annah co-founded City Sprouts Farm in Bellingham, a neighborhood farm that grows mixed vegetables for a CSA and local hunger relief organizations. Welcome to the team, Annah!
SoilCon Field Day
July 27, 2023
We had a great turnout of 90 people at our SoilCon Field Day, funded by the WA Soil Health Initiative. We discussed in-field and lab soil health assessments, options for high-residue seeding and reduced tillage, the Sustainable Farms and Fields program. Find more resources on what was covered here.
We had a great turnout of 90 people at our SoilCon Field Day, funded by the WA Soil Health Initiative. We discussed in-field and lab soil health assessments, options for high-residue seeding and reduced tillage, the Sustainable Farms and Fields program. Find more resources on what was covered here.
Congratulations, Teal!
June 16, 2023
Congratulations to postdoc Teal Potter who is now joining the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR) as Project Manager for the Climate Analogs Academy Project.
Congratulations to postdoc Teal Potter who is now joining the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR) as Project Manager for the Climate Analogs Academy Project.
Welcome Nayab!
May 16, 2023
We are happy to welcome Nayab Gull to the NWREC Soil Health lab! Nayab will be a PhD student working with Deirdre and Dr. Lisa DeVetter (small fruit horticulture) on a USDA SCRI funded project examining the impacts of soil-biodegradable plastic mulches in strawberry systems. Nayab completed her M.S. in Crop Cultivation and Farming Systems from China Agricultural University, Beijing, where she studied the effects of microplastics pollution in agroecosystems. We are happy to have her join us at WSU Mount Vernon. Welcome, Nayab!
We are happy to welcome Nayab Gull to the NWREC Soil Health lab! Nayab will be a PhD student working with Deirdre and Dr. Lisa DeVetter (small fruit horticulture) on a USDA SCRI funded project examining the impacts of soil-biodegradable plastic mulches in strawberry systems. Nayab completed her M.S. in Crop Cultivation and Farming Systems from China Agricultural University, Beijing, where she studied the effects of microplastics pollution in agroecosystems. We are happy to have her join us at WSU Mount Vernon. Welcome, Nayab!