What You Need to Know About Fruit Acclimation to Heat Stress

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By Antoinette Avorgbedor

Intern at Washington State University’s Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center and the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources

Looking along grape vine rows, with arid hills in the background

Agriculture in arid conditions can be challenging for fruit development. Could acclimation help with those challenges? Photo: Cliff Hellis, under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Did you know that people indigenous to the hotter equatorial regions have much lower sweat rates than people in cooler regions of the world? Similar to the ability of the human body to adjust to different climatic conditions, plants have evolved various mechanisms to survive extreme weather conditions. Besides long-term evolutionary modifications, plants have been found to develop quick short-term tolerance to extreme environmental conditions. Many different plant species have been reported to develop “memory” to stress, which then helps protect against future adverse conditions. I found this topic pretty interesting. What types of benefits could be derived from a deeper understanding of how plants “acclimate” when experiencing physical stress factors? And could understanding this ability be useful for improving their tolerance to stress, so they can avoid some of the impacts of stress on fruit production? Continue reading →

Announcement: Webinar on Climate Tools for Specialty Crop Growers

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Monday September 23rd, 11–noon PT

Join the USDA Northwest Climate Hub online Sept. 23 from11 a.m.-noon PT to learn about the Future Crop Suitability Tool and Climate Mapper (available at http://www.climatetoolbox.org) that can assist tree/shrub fruit growers (almonds, apples, blueberries, and cherries) with future location and management decisions.

Here is some information about each tool:

The Specialty Crop Suitability Tool provides mapped and graphical summaries of the climatic suitability for cultivating selected tree/shrub specialty crops across the Northwest. The phenology-based tool focuses on temperature requirements and limitations for crop development, and provides information on how often climatic conditions are suitable for crop success and what the limiting factors for success may be. It provides this information for two future time periods and two future climate scenarios using the average output across 20 global climate models. The mapping and graphical interface, along with extensive documentation, allows users to explore the intersection of climate and perennial agriculture in the Northwest and may aid in agricultural management decisions such as site or cultivar selection.

The Climate Mapper Tool allows users to access a series of maps that display climate information across the U.S., covering both recent and future time periods. The mapping interface not only provides climate variables, but also variables pertinent to agricultural systems. The dynamic mapping interface provides a straightforward way for decision-makers and scientists to visualize climate information.

The webinar will provide an overview of what the tools can (and cannot) tell you, and Drs. John Abatzoglou (University of Idaho Climatology Lab) and Lauren Parker (USDA California Climate Hub) will guide you through examples of how to use them.

Register for the webinar here: https://go.unl.edu/hhm5

Dr. Lauren Parker, California Climate Hub

Dr. John Abatzoglou, University of Idaho Climatology Lab

Sweat the Small Stuff, Like the Hessian Fly

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By Doug Finkelnburg

Female Hessian fly laying an egg on a wheat leaf

Hessian fly, a modest pest of Pacific Northwest wheat, with potentially big impacts as the climate changes. Photo: Scott Bauer/USDA Agricultural Research Service under CC BY 3.0 US.

As climate change is occupying more space in public discourse, it is easy to focus on the attention-grabbing headlines about loss of sea ice, warming oceans, and more intense and frequent wildfires. Often overlooked are the seemingly subtle effects a changing climate presents and the ramifications these subtle changes can have. For example, let us discuss a modest pest of Pacific Northwest wheat, the Hessian fly. Continue reading →

How Suitable is Apple Orchard Netting as a Sunburn Control Measure?

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By Antoinette Avorgbedor

Intern at Washington State University’s Tree Fruit Research and Extension Center and the Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources

More likely than not, you have passed large apple orchards in your travels around the Pacific Northwest area and observed nets spanning wide areas of apple trees. Sometimes the entire top and all the sides of orchards are enclosed. A 2017 survey conducted in Washington State to assess the extent of netting found that about 5% of the surveyed acres were under nets and an additional 7% was estimated to be added in 2018 (Mupambi et al. 2019). Intuitively, you think nets are supposed to keep pests and trespassers out. At least, that is what I thought when I first saw an apple orchard covered with netting. That happens to be only a secondary reason for which tree fruit growers invest in such extensive enclosing techniques. A whopping 98.3% of the growers surveyed indicated that sunburn reduction was one of their most important reasons for using netting (the survey allowed growers to choose multiple reasons). I couldn’t help but wonder: What does this growing popularity of shade netting mean for the future of apple sunburn control?

Green apples with golden brown or dark brown patches on the skin

Sunburn in Granny Smith apples. Photos: I. Hanrahan and M. Mendoza. Reproduced with permission, from Mupambi et al. 2019.

Continue reading →

Check it out: The Black Box of Soil Organic Matter and Soil Health

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By Sonia A. Hall

Two men bent over a shovelful of soil in a harvested wheat field.

The connection between soil health and carbon sequestration are complex, but advances in soil biology are teasing them out. Photo: Ron Nichols/USDA NRCS under CC BY 2.0.

A number of recent AgClimate.net articles focused on soil health (see for example this article on a soil health NRCS resource  and one on decomposition of wheat residues research). These articles commented on why soil health is important from a climate change perspective: more carbon-rich organic matter in the soil contributes to soil health, and also means less carbon as carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. So the potential exists for a win-win situation. As most things in life and agriculture, the connections between improved soil health and increased carbon sequestration are not as simple as they sound. Check out Andy McGuire’s elegant blog article describing why advances in soil biology—a foundational component of soil health—are important. He explains that it is not because they “change everything,” but because they help clarify why some things work and some don’t as much, and explain how complex that connection between soil health and carbon sequestration in soils appears to be. And though we may not want to hear it, we need this understanding to determine where the win-win practices that both increase soil health and sequester more carbon might realistically be. So take a few minutes to read McGuire’s article—it’s well worth the time!

The Forest Service’s Climate Adaptation Publication is a Worthy Resource for All Landowners

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By Chris Schnepf

The cover of the General Technical Report

Halofsky, Jessica E.; Peterson, David L.; Dante-Wood, S. Karen; Hoang, Linh; Ho, Joanne J.; Joyce, Linda A., eds. 2018. Climate change vulnerability and adaptation in the Northern Rocky Mountains (Parts 1 and 2). Gen. Tech. Rep. RMRS-GTR-374. Fort Collins, CO: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station.

Foresters were among the first to start thinking about the possible effects of climate change, in part because of the long-term nature of forests—foresters commonly reflect on management issues on 50 or even 150-year time scales. Because forests are also highly valued for other benefits in addition to commodity production (i.e., wood), those managing forests are also particularly aware of the long-term effects of their management on water, wildlife, soil, and other ecosystem benefits.

One of the best examples of that broad, long, view is a recent new publication titled “Climate Change Vulnerability and Adaptation in the Northern Rocky Mountains,” a two-part, 495-page document produced by the USDA Forest Service). The publication is the result of a process that had extensive involvement from Forest Service personnel, non-governmental partners, and universities in a series of 2- and 3-day workshops throughout the Northern Region of the Forest Service (including one in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho). Continue reading →

What is Ocean Acidification? Should We Worry About It?

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By Laurie Houston

A pile of oysters.

Oysters, an important industry in the Pacific Northwest, is vulnerable to ocean acidification. Photo: Steve Freeman under CC BY 2.0

I recently enlisted colleagues to write a blog article about the impact carbon dioxide emissions have on the Pacific Northwest oyster aquaculture industry. While reviewing the blog I realized that ocean acidification is probably a little-understood feature for many of us.  Therefore, I went in search of articles and videos that explain the science of ocean acidification, and its impact on ecosystems and economies. Continue reading →

Check it out: New Resource for Healthy Soils and Climate Resilience

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By Gabrielle Roesch-McNally

Hand holding a clod of soil full of roots and worms

Healthy soils can build greater resilience and reduce risks in the face of more extreme and variable weather. Photo: Aaron Roth/NRCS under CC BY-ND 2.0.

Climate change is expected to increase the vulnerability of our agriculture and natural resource systems. In the face of more extreme and variable weather, there are a suite of soil health management practices that land managers can adopt to build greater resilience and to reduce risks in their agricultural operations (examples of strategies in Figure 1).

Through engagement with land managers and those who work with them, including Extension, Natural Resource Conservation Services (NRCS), and Soil and Water Conservation District (SWCD) professionals, it became clear that many of them were interested in soil health and its linkages with climate change adaptation and mitigation. As a result, Oregon NRCS and the USDA Northwest Climate Hub partnered to develop a resource to aid advisors and land managers in discussing soil health and climate resilience together. Continue reading →

What Does Winter Wheat Decomposition Have to Do with Climate?

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by Georgine Yorgey

Managing crop residue is essential to reduced and no-till farming systems. These farming systems store more carbon than conventional farming systems, thereby mitigating climate change, enhancing soil health, and reducing soil erosion. In work described in a recent project report, Arron Carter and colleagues have been working to make it easier for growers with diverse needs across the Pacific Northwest to manage wheat residues. While the work is still in progress, it is an illustration of the kind of creative, applied work that is needed to make reduced-tillage systems easier to manage, and more widely adopted across the region.

Wheat growing in a field, with residues remaining from last year's harvest between the rows.

Wheat residue in a field in early July near Bickleton, WA. This area is part of the drier winter wheat-fallow area, where slower decomposing residues are preferred. Photo: Hilary Davis.

Growers in different parts of the dryland Pacific Northwest are seeking different residue characteristics. Continue reading →

What can the Pacific Northwest Oyster Aquaculture Industry do about Ocean Acidification?

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Market with baskets of shellfish for sale, and boards with prices in the background

Oysters for sale at Taylor Shellfish Farms in Samish Bay, WA. Photo: Brian Katz

By Thamanna Vasan and David M. Kling, Department of Applied Economics, Oregon State University

Chances are that, when you go to a restaurant for oysters in the Pacific Northwest, you’ll come across a menu that features the Pacific oyster. Also known as the immigrant oyster, the Pacific oyster made its way to the Northwest in the early 1900s from Japan, and has remained a staple in aquaculture in the region due to the ease with which growers can produce the oyster and the value it holds in markets.

Over the past decade the oyster industry in the Northwest has taken a hit. Due to rapidly changing ocean conditions, a growing process that once ran like clockwork has been experiencing major glitches, and public enemy number one is ocean acidification. Continue reading →