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CapitalPress.com
Friday, December 31, 2021
People & Places
Understanding the Pandora moth
By BRAD CARLSON
Capital Press
MOSCOW, Idaho —
Chris Hamilton is investi-
gating why the Pandora pine
moth is moving north into
Idaho and Washington state.
The moth doesn’t kill
a conifer, but it can strip a
tree’s needles, weaken its
immune system and make it
more vulnerable to diseases
or other pests such as pine
beetles.
“The issue is that the
Pandora moth from time to
time has massive population
explosions,” said the Univer-
sity of Idaho’s Hamilton.
He, his lab manager and
a graduate student in March
will start a two-year project
funded by an approximately
$250,000 USDA grant. They
will explore whether cli-
mate change is a factor in the
northward expansion of the
Pandora moth’s range.
Hamilton, an evolutionary
biologist, is interested in why
populations spike. A cur-
rent big increase appears to
have started in the summer of
2019 in Central Oregon just
east of the Cascade Range.
He arrived at UI in 2018.
He had been studying organ-
isms that had a Northwest
presence — a factor in the
pivot to Pandora moths.
As a traditional biologist
and taxonomist, “I had dif-
ferent questions,” Hamilton
said.
“One of our jobs is inves-
tigating the genomes of these
organisms to see if we can
find links in the genome that
tell us why or how they are
producing these huge explo-
sions,” he said.
Pandora moths are native
and have natural predators.
The big moths are found
from the Rocky Mountains
west. Preliminary data indi-
Established 1928
Capital Press Managers
Joe Beach ..................... Editor & Publisher
Anne Long ................. Advertising Director
Western
Innovator
CORVALLIS, Ore. —
Researchers are studying
how Oregon farmers grow-
ing trailing blackberries
can improve
their water
use
effi-
ciency and
irrigate
more stra-
tegically to
boost fruit
quality and David Bryla
increase
cold-hardiness.
The research started with
a simple question: How
much water do trailing
blackberry plants require?
Irrigation of blackber-
ries up to this point has been
guided largely by trial and
error and theoretical guess-
Samantha Stinnett .....Circulation Manager
Entire contents copyright © 2021
Marek Borowiec/UI
Chris Hamilton in his University of Idaho laboratory on the Moscow campus. He is
studying the Pandora pine moth that is found in many Western forests.
cate moths recently found in
Idaho and Washington state
come from outbreak-prone
populations.
“It appears it is only the
northern populations that
have this outbreaking ability,”
Hamilton said.
One of the study’s goals
is to produce genomic data
so that “in the future, some-
one can use that data to tar-
get genomic regions and help
mitigate these outbreaks,” he
said.
For example, “once we
have this understanding of
the genome, then we can take
action to apply modern pest
management strategies to
stop or slow down these out-
breaks,” Hamilton said.
Data gathered in the next
two years may prompt a larger
follow-up project exploring
strategies to better understand
Pandora moth outbreaks and
how to mitigate damage.
“Now, we are trying to
build the foundational aspect
of it,” Hamilton said.
Hamilton
specializes
in spiders and moths. His
lab establishes data-driven
hypotheses about generating
and maintaining biodiversity.
It is part of UI’s Arthropod
Molecular Systematics Lab.
Hamilton is a researcher
and
extension
special-
ist. His extension appoint-
ment focuses on K-12 sci-
ence, technology, engineering
and math education and out-
reach. Part of this work is with
Native American students.
Native Americans are
underrepresented in the sci-
ences, and “my goal is to
stimulate that and get more
kids interested in the sciences,
and biology,” he said. He is
a member of the Chickasaw
Nation of Oklahoma.
Understanding DNA and
the genome can provide a
CHRIS HAMILTON
EO Media Group
Title: Assistant professor
and extension specialist,
University of Idaho College
of Agricultural and Life
Sciences, Department of
Entomology, Plant Pathol-
ogy and Nematology.
dba Capital Press
Education: B.A., pho-
tojournalism, Western
Kentucky University; M.S.,
biology, University of Texas
at Arlington; Ph.D., evolu-
tionary biology, Auburn
University.
Other organizations:
Systematics, Evolution
& Biodiversity Section
president, Entomological
Society of America.
work. Researchers say that’s
because the water manage-
ment data Oregon black-
berry producers consult to
make irrigation decisions
was developed for berry
crops broadly, but not for
blackberries specifically.
“It’s pretty one-size-
fits all,” said David Bryla,
USDA research horticultur-
ist, speaking at the North-
west Small Fruits Research
Conference in Corvallis this
month. “But obviously the
way a raspberry grows isn’t
like the way a blackberry
grows, and the way a black-
berry grows is nowhere
like how a blueberry would
grow.”
Because there currently
is no centralized, accurate
source of water manage-
ment data specific to black-
berries, scientists say grow-
ers may be over-irrigating or
watering at the wrong times
— a problem with eco-
nomic and environmental
consequences.
“For this research, we
wanted to develop a real crop
coefficient curve for black-
berries so growers have bet-
ter estimates of what amount
of water to give blackber-
ries,” said Bryla. “Clearly,
there’s going to be an eco-
nomic benefit to that.”
Crop coefficients are
properties of plants used to
estimate crop water use and
accurately schedule irriga-
tion. Growers currently rely
on a combination of crop
coefficients and data from
free weather stations —
such as the U.S. Bureau of
Reclamation’s AgriMet ser-
vice — to determine how
much water they need for
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To Reach Us
Age: 45
Hometown: Kansas City,
Kan. Lives in Moscow,
Idaho.
Family: Married to Amy
Skibiel, UI animal, veter-
inary and food sciences
assistant professor.
Hobbies: Playing hockey,
upland bird hunting,
fishing. Soccer fan.
Pandora pine moth
strong base on which students
can build their knowledge
of the world around them,
Hamilton said. It can add to
their understanding and per-
spective on everything from
organisms, forests, fisheries
and farms to human health
and medicine.
Genomics, the study of
specific crops.
The new research project
aims to make the data more
precise.
For the experiments,
Bryla has been working
alongside Jesse Carroll, an
Oregon State University
graduate student; Scott Orr,
a biological research tech-
nician at USDA; Amanda
Davis, an OSU berry crops
researcher; and soon-to-re-
tire Bernadine Strik, a long-
time OSU professor and
berry researcher.
The experiments are
expected to last two to three
years.
The team will use a vari-
ety of tools to conduct the
research, including drones
to collect remote images and
precision weighing lysime-
ters developed specifically
for the trials. A precision
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Idaho
Carol Ryan Dumas ..............208-860-3898
Boise
Brad Carlson .......................208-914-8264
Western Washington
Don Jenkins .........................360-722-6975
genes in an organism’s com-
plete DNA set, “is a way to
grab students’ attention and
get them interested in the sci-
ences,” he said. “They can
bring this knowledge back
to the tribe so the tribe ben-
efits from it and can apply
it to their natural resources
work.”
Researchers study how to water blackberries more efficiently
By SIERRA DAWN MCCLAIN
Capital Press
Carl Sampson .................. Managing Editor
weighing lysimeter mea-
sures evapotranspiration.
Bryla said he’s confi-
dent that the research find-
ings will be useful to grow-
ers. Knowing when and how
much to water is important,
he said.
Several years ago, a
study by OSU research-
ers found that blackberries
do not need to be irrigated
post-harvest. When grow-
ers omit post-harvest irri-
gation, the study found, it
saves about 67,000 gallons
of irrigation water per acre
— about 2.5 acre-inches
— and can sometimes even
improve plants’ winter har-
diness. Many blackberry
growers have since stopped
irrigating post-harvest, sav-
ing on expenses and helping
the environment by conserv-
ing water.
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Eric Gordon Stritzke, 55, was known for his touch in repairing ag equipment
Eric Gordon Stritzke, 55,
of McMinnville, Ore., died
Nov. 18, 2021, of sudden
heart failure.
Eric was born Aug. 16,
1966, in Roseburg, Ore. He
graduated from Canby High
School and received a bache-
lor of science degree in Diesel
Power Technology from Ore-
gon Institute of Technology in
Klamath Falls.
He married Patti Boehlke
in 1994 and together they
were raising two sons, Cole
and Spencer.
Eric’s
passion was
servicing the
farmers and
growers of
the Willa-
mette Valley
Eric Gordon agricultural
industry. He
Stritzke
started his
career in agriculture with Fir
Point Farms in Aurora, Ore., a
produce stand that he founded
and operated while in high
school.
After college, Eric held
positions with Freeman Baler,
Fisher Implement Co., Krone,
Linn-Benton Tractor and
finally, he owned and oper-
ated his own business, San-
tiam Tractor Supply.
Eric actively supported
Oregon Women for Agricul-
ture and local FFA chapters.
His favorite time of the year
was “harvest,” when it was
not unusual to find him in the
South Valley during the night
and up North during the day
helping to ensure growers’
equipment was working prop-
erly to perform the day’s, or
night’s, work.
Eric was preceded in death
by his mother, Judy (Pon)
Stritzke, and is survived by
his wife and children; his
father, Ed Stritzke; his sis-
ters, Kris Heighes and Debi
Stritzke; his brothers, Nick
Stritzke and Mike Stritzke;
his nephew, Justin Stritzke;
and an extended family of
aunts, uncles and cousins.
An informal open house
celebrating Eric’s life will be
held Jan. 29, 2022, from 2 to
4 p.m. at Smith Bros. Farms,
29610 Peoria Road, Shedd,
Ore. 97377.
Remember Eric whenever
you see a grass seed field,
a windrower, a Krone baler
or a John Deere tractor. And
when you do remember, take
a moment to perform a small
service or do a good deed for
another. If your heart is telling
you to do something more,
consider a donation to Ore-
gon Women for Agriculture
or your local FFA chapter in
Eric’s name.
send the information to
newsroom@capitalpress.com
or mail it to “Newsroom,” c/o Capital Press.
Include a contact telephone number.
Letters to the Editor: Send your
comments on agriculture-related public
issues to opinions@capitalpress.com, or
mail your letter to “Opinion,” c/o Capital
Press. Letters should be limited to
300 words. Deadline: Noon Monday.
Capital Press ag media
CapitalPress.com
FarmSeller.com
MarketPlace.capitalpress.com
facebook.com/CapitalPress
CALENDAR
Submit upcoming ag-related
events on www.capitalpress.com or by
email to newsroom@capitalpress.com.
FRIDAY- WEDNESDAY
JAN. 7-12
American Farm Bureau Conven-
tion: Georgia World Congress Center,
285 Andrew Young International Blvd.,
Atlanta, Ga. This is an opportunity
to help set the agenda for the lead-
ing voice of agriculture in Washing-
ton, D.C., and much more. Participate
in educational workshops to advance
your leadership skills, expand your
business acumen and gain insight into
the trends and realities impacting food
production. Website: https://www.
fb.org/events/afbf-convention/
WEDNESDAY- FRIDAY
JAN. 12-14
Northwest Agricultural Show:
Oregon State Fair and Exposition
Center, 2330 17th St. NE, Salem. Join
us at the fairgrounds for an ol’ fash-
ioned farm show. We’ll also have
a full slate of exhibitors, presenta-
tions, seminars and events. Website:
https://northwestagshow.com/
SUNDAY-TUESDAY
JAN. 16-18
NFU Women’s Conference:
Holiday Inn and Suites Nashville
Downtown Convention Center. Top-
ics will include business manage-
ment, leadership, community build-
ing and more. Website: https://nfu.
org/womensconference/
TUESDAY-WEDNESDAY
JAN. 18-19
The VISION Conference
2022: Renaissance Phoenix Glen-
dale Hotel and Spa, Glendale, Ariz.
The conference engages leaders
throughout agricultural technol-
ogy to address the dynamic recent
advances in technology, systems
and platforms enabling intercon-
nected solutions from farm to retail.
Website: http://www.thevisioncon-
ference.com
WEDNESDAY-THURSDAY
JAN. 19-20
2022 Northwest Hay Expo:
Three Rivers Convention Center,
Kennewick, Wash. Sponsored by
the Washington State Hay Growers
Association, this is a one-stop infor-
mation center for all things hay.
Website: www.wa-hay.org
2022 Idaho Potato Confer-
ence: Idaho State University, stu-
dent union building, Pocatello. The
conference includes educational
presentations and a trade show.
facebook.com/FarmSeller
Website: www.uidaho.edu
SUNDAY-WEDNESDAY
JAN. 23-26
Dairy Forum 2022: J.W. Mar-
riott Desert Springs Resort & Spa,
Palm Desert, Calif. Presented by
International Dairy Foods Associa-
tion, the forum will feature what’s
new, now and next for dairy foods.
Website: www.idfa.org
THURSDAY
JAN. 27
USBI Biochar in the Woods
Seminar (online): 9 a.m.-4 p.m. At
the day-long, online seminar and
the following field day events in
Butte County, Calif. (free), you will
learn how to make and use biochar
onsite to increase the water hold-
ing capacity and resilience of forest
soils. Website: https://bit.ly/3q1Ejli
Uses and Benefits of Collab-
orative Robots in Manufactur-
ing (online): 10-11 a.m. Is your
manufacturing facility undergo-
ing a workforce shortage? Attract-
ing, hiring, and keeping workers is
one of today’s key workforce chal-
lenges. In this free webinar, we will
discuss how collaborative robotics
may be able to help. We will include
demonstrations and examples of
cobots. Website: https://techhelp.
regfox.com/20221robotics
TUESDAY-THURSDAY
FEB. 1-3
Cattle Industry Convention
& NCBA Trade Show: George R.
Brown Convention Center, Houston,
Texas. The convention will include
industry speakers and educational
events. Website: http://www.ncba.
org
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Index
Markets .................................................10
Opinion ...................................................6
Correction policy
Accuracy is important to Capital Press
staff and to our readers.
If you see a misstatement, omission or
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caption, please call the Capital Press news
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