November 2023
Title: TBD – Connor Buckley, MS Student Horticulture, WSU
This talk will be provided in the Horticulture Department's weekly seminar series. Please contact the organizers if you would like a video conference link to attend remotely.
Find out more »Impact of hive placement on blueberry pollination and honey bee exposure to pesticide drift – Kayla Brouwer, MS Student, Horticulture, WSU
Northern highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum; hereafter “blueberry”) is an economically important crop with Michigan, Oregon, and Washington collectively producing 64% of all blueberries grown in the United States. Blueberry production relies on insect-mediated pollination in order to obtain profitable yields and growers primarily use rented honey bee (Apis mellifera) hives for pollination services. Blueberry flower morphology is not conducive to efficient pollination by honey bees and poor weather can further reduce honey bee activity and pollination success. Additionally, commercial blueberry…
Find out more »October 2023
UTILIZING A NON-DESTRUCTIVE APPROACH TO IMPROVE UNIFORMITY OF PHASE 2 FRUIT SAMPLES IN THE WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY APPLE BREEDING PROGRAM – India Cain, MS Student in Horticulture, WSU
The Washington State University Apple Breeding Program is composed of three phases of selection. Phase 2 accessions consist of five replicate trees that are evaluated for several years at three geographically diverse sites in Washington. Each accession is harvested over three picks using subjective maturity assessments that include change in the background color and starch degradation. Lack of information regarding optimal harvest date, limited fruit and variable maturity throughout the canopy can lead to large within-sample variations of maturity in…
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