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2 CapitalPress.com March 27, 2015 People & Places Serving replant disease a meal of mustard Mark Mazzola finds ways to avoid costly condition that arises in fruit trees Established 1928 Board of directors Mike Forrester ..........................President Steve Forrester Kathryn Brown Sid Freeman .................. Outside director Mike Omeg .................... Outside director Corporate officer John Perry Chief operating officer By DAN WHEAT Yellow and white mustard seed meal can be used to combat replant disease in apple trees. Flake form is at left. Pellet form is at right. Capital Press WENATCHEE, Wash. — Mark Mazzola has been in- vestigating replant disease in apple orchards for 20 years and says he’s found a solution that may work bet- ter than soil fumigation. A combination of yel- low and white mustard seed meals combats replant dis- ease longer than fumigants by addressing the whole ecosystem of soil rather than just its chemistry, says Mazzola, a research plant pathologist at USTA’s Ag- riculture Research Service Tree Fruit Research Labora- tory in Wenatchee. Mustard seed meal also results in better tree growth and fruit yields than fumiga- tion, he said. Replant disease is perva- sive when replanting an or- chard and is a “major imped- iment to the establishment of an economically viable orchard,” Mazzola said. Replant disease is a build-up of micro-organ- isms in soil from old tree roots that hampers the growth and productivity of new trees. It wasn’t much known before a disastrous freeze in 1968 and 1969 killed a lot of orchards in Central Washington. Growers tore out dead trees and replanted new ones and began having more problems with diseases, Tom Auvil, research horticulturist at the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission in Wenatchee, has said. The industry turned to fumigation but it doesn’t always work because tem- perature, soil texture and soil moisture all can hin- der its effectiveness, Auvil said. Mazzola, now 54, was hired at the ARS in Wenatchee in 1995, primar- ily to investigate replant dis- ease. He has focused on ap- ples but looked at pears and cherries, which are suscepti- ble to the same pathogens. He believes his under- graduate work in forest bi- ology and strong foundation Capital Press Photos by Dan Wheat/Capital Press Mark Mazzola, USDA Agricultural Research Service plant pathologist, looks at Geneva rootstock similar to what he’s used in replant disease trials. Shashika Hewavitharana, Washington State University doctor- al student, works on anaerobic soil disinfestation in the background in Wenatchee, Wash., March 17. Western Innovator Mark Mazzola Age: 54 Born and raised: Boston, Mass. Family: Wife, Michelle Mazzola, a funding consultant. Education: Bachelor’s in forest biology, University of Vermont, 1983; master’s in forest pathology, University of Vermont, 1985; doctorate in plant pathology, Washington State University, 1990. Occupation: Research plant pathologist, USDA ARS Tree Fruit Research Laboratory, Wenatchee, since 1995. Previous work: Research plant pathologist, USDA ARS, Pullman, Wash., 1993-1995; post-doctorate research associate, Kansas State University, 1990-1993; manager, Nematode Diagnostic Laboratory, University of Vermont, 1985-1986. Quote: “My interests were in natural resources and that related to my first hiking trip in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.” in ecology gives him a broad perspective in looking at re- plant disease and soils. “Most people in this re- search come from agricul- tural programs like plant and soil science. It’s rela- tively rare to find people with an ecology background in plant pathology. I try to understand how soils func- tion from a biological and ecological perspective,” he said. Many diverse organisms are at work in soils, he said. He has managed a nem- atode diagnostics lab, worked on rust fungi, soil bore fungi and bacteria and then studied the molecular genetics of bacteria that are pathogens of rice. “You don’t find a lot of people who have worked on trees, beans, rice, wheat and now apples. We get pigeon-holed quickly,” he said. In looking at replant dis- ease, Mazzola first identi- fied four fungal organisms and the lesion nematode as the main problems. He tested several cover crops to control the pathogens on the ground before it was replanted as orchard but without the results he was looking for. He left ground fallow for up to three years without a reduction in dis- ease development. About 15 years ago, there was a lot of interest in using mustards, canola, broccoli and other brassica plants as green manure in soil for their biologically active chemistries. “But you can’t produce enough biomass to obtain the chemistry needed to suppress plant pathogens. Seed meal possesses higher quantities of these chemis- tries,” Mazzola said. He began experiment- ing with seed meal from various brassica crops and found none of them alone controlled replant organ- isms. Then he tested various combinations and ratios. He landed on a 50-50 mix of yellow and white mustard seed meal applied in the fall before a spring planting. The mix produces chem- icals that kill the pathogens but also changes the micro- biology of the soil to make it more resistant to re-infes- tation. A field trial of Jona- gold trees on Geneva 11 rootstock, planted in 2010, resulted in a 45 percent in- crease in fruit yield. Gala on Malling 9 and Geneva 11, also planted in 2010, in the mustard seed meal treat- ed soil yielded 25 percent more fruit cumulatively in the first two years. Mazzola used metage- nome analysis, generating and sifting through millions of TNA sequences, to study roots and attached soil and found microbes in fumigat- ed soil reverted back to their original state after two sea- sons while microbes in seed meal treatment were distinct and still suppressing disease after the fourth season. “We’re able to identify all the bacteria and fungi colonizing the apple tree root system and improve the root-soil ecosystem to man- age the pathogens of this disease,” he said. Auvil has said Mazzo- la has done a great job of showing a wide array of or- ganisms at work in tree fruit soil, but that the seed meal solution takes too much meal from too far away to be practical beyond test plots. “Growers apply 20 tons per acre of compost in the fall to orchards,” Mazzola said, noting he applies mus- tard seed meal at 3 tons per acre and has successfully reduced that by one-third. Mustard seed meal is mainly a biodiesel byprod- uct produced in the Midwest but mustard seed is grown in Washington and can be increased, he said. “Growers will make this work,” he said, adding meal flakes have been turned into pellets commercially in California for easier appli- cation. Interaction between Ge- neva rootstock and the seed meal are likely to allow further reductions in the quantities required, he said. And seed meal may not be the only solution. Mazzola continues to research other potential solutions. “The Geneva rootstock was developed for precoci- ty, dwarfing and fire blight resistance, not replant dis- ease,” he said. “That’s a side benefit. It has a toler- ance for replant disease. It handles it.” Mazzola and Yanmin Zhu, an ARS geneticist in Wenatchee, and Gennaro Fazio, an ARS rootstock breeder in Geneva, N.Y., who developed the Geneva rootstock, are collaborating to investigate differences in gene expression with an eye toward developing a rootstock truly resistant to replant disease. Capital Press Managers Mike O’Brien .............................Publisher Joe Beach ..................................... Editor Elizabeth Yutzie Sell .... Advertising Director Carl Sampson ................Managing Editor Barbara Nipp ......... Production Manager Samantha McLaren .... Circulation Manager Entire contents copyright © 2015 EO Media Group dba Capital Press An independent newspaper published every Friday. Capital Press (ISSN 0740-3704) is published weekly by EO Media Group, 1400 Broadway St. NE, Salem OR 97301. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, OR, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: send address changes to Capital Press, P.O. Box 2048 Salem, OR 97308-2048. To Reach Us Toll free ............................. 800-882-6789 Main line ........................... 503-364-4431 Fax ................................... 503-370-4383 Advertising Fax ................ 503-364-2692 News Staff N. 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TAYLOR For the Capital Press Cowboy Logic T Ryan Taylor OWNER, N.T. — The weather has warmed up considerably in our neighborhood, making it feel like spring. That’s an odd feeling for us in North Takota, as the solstice turns to spring, to have our actual weather match the officially designated season. It makes the kids want to play catch and ride their bikes when they get off the school bus. It makes me feel like being outside, working in our shop where the in- side temperature is perfect- ly synchronized with the outdoor temperature, and catching up on a few assort- ed projects that I started a while back. ‘A while back’ When I say, “a while back,” it reminds me of when my dad used to say, “here the other day.” In lat- er years, he would say that and Mom would remind him that “here the other day” usually meant any- where from 5 months to 15 years ago in actual calendar time. Time flies, I guess, and it usually flies faster and far- ther as we get older. It’s the reason we look at our chil- dren’s rate of growth and maturity in disbelief, and wonder how it could be that our friends are becoming grandparents and that we somehow received notice of a 25-year, or more, school reunion. One of the projects I’d started “a while back” was to put some electric lights in a small pole building I had built years ago with the help of a couple passing neigh- bors and relatives. It’s used mostly for storage, but I also have a horse pen and a hitching rail next to it so it’s become my tack shed and the place to keep our saddles out of the weather. Sometimes, we start out early with the horses, or ride late in the evening, so I figured a lit- tle illumination would be handy. I had an electrician run a line out and put an elec- tric breaker panel in there — five years ago? Here the other day. I went to the store and bought the things I would need — switches, outlets, little blue boxes, lamp holders, wire and wire staples and wire nuts — four years ago? Just here the other day. Ranch electrician Now, with this warm weather I gathered up my pliers and screwdrivers and wire stripper and decided I was going to “let there be light” in our saddle shed. I’m no master electrician, but I am a ranch electrician. TIY is the acronym for us “do it yourself” types. I can run wires out of a panel and put in some out- lets and lights and simple switches. I can even do a three-way switch if I go to our shop that was wired by a real electrician, look at things and remind myself what to do with that extra red wire. My cardinal rule — make double and triple sure that the power is off on the start of the wire before I start messing with the end of the wire. I gathered up my plas- tic bags of electrical pieces and parts from the hardware store that had been laying in that building for “a while now.” I picked up the plastic bags and they disintegrated completely, dropping my new supplies on the ground. Plastic timing I don’t know what the rate of deterioration is on good petro-chemical plas- tic. I’d always heard that plastic would live on a lot longer than we do. Maybe the bags were sitting in the sunlight. Perhaps they had some biodegradable corn starch components. But, in any case, my period of pro- crastination outlasted the plastic. The lights are now on and I have a new goal for my long list of other projects — make sure to complete them faster than their plastic bags of supplies break down in the environment. It’s not a high bar. We can do this. Calendar APRIL OREGON April 9 — Oregon Mint Com- mission budget hearing, 10 a.m., Hood River Hotel, 102 Oak St., Hood River, 503-364-2944 April 18 — Oregon Women for Agriculture Auction and Din- ner, Linn County Fair and Expo Center, Albany, 503-243-FARM (3276), http://owaonline.org/ April 25-26 — AgFest, 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday, Oregon State Fair- grounds, Salem, $9 for adults, under 12 are free, http://www. oragfest.com April 28 — Oregon Blueber- ry Commission budget hearing, noon, Chemeketa Events at Winema, Room 210, 4001 Wine- ma Place, NE, Salem, 503-364- 2944 CALIFORNIA April 18-21 — California State FFA Conference, Selland Arena, Fresno, www.calaged. org/stateconvention IDAHO April 8-11 — State FFA Leadership Conference, College of Southern Idaho, Twin Falls, www.idffafoundation.org/ April 24 — Forester map and compass workshop, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., University of IdahoExten- sion office, 1808 N. Third St., Coeur d’Alene, $10 fee, 208- 446-1683, http://www.uidaho. edu/extension/forestry/content/ calendarofevents WASHINGTON April 4 — Washington State Sheep Producers Lambing and Management School, Sprague, $50 (member), $60 (non-mem- ber), 509-257-2230, dvm@feus- telfarms.com April 6-11 — Washington State Sheep Producers Shearing School, Moses Lake April 16-19 — Washing- ton State Spring Fair, Puyal- lup, 2-10 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday and Sat- urday and 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sun- day, http://www.thefair.com/ spring-fair/ MAY WASHINGTON May 14-16 — Washington FFA Convention, Washington State Uni- versity, Pullman, www.washingtonf- fa.org/convention CALIFORNIA May 1-2 — Forest Landowners of California annual meeting, Holiday Inn, Auburn, www.forestlandowners.org/ JUNE CALIFORNIA June 15-26 — Postharvest Tech- nology Short Course, University of Cal- ifornia-Davis, http://postharvest.ucdavis. edu/Education/PTShortCourse/ WASHINGTON June 20-21 — Glenwood Ketchum Kalf Rodeo, 1 p.m. each day, 509-364- 3371, http://business.gorge.net/glen- woodrodeo/ JULY IDAHO July 11 — 94th annual Idaho Ram Sale, Twin Falls County Fairgrounds, Filer, 208-334-2271 or iwga@earth- link.net Mailing address: Capital Press P.O. 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