East Oregonian
Page 3A
REGION
Crashed gas tanker requires finesse
HERMISTON
Potato research at center
of HAREC field day
By GEORGE PLAVEN
East Oregonian
Staff photo by George Plaven
Brett Husey, with BioWest Ag Solutions in Richland,
Washington, looks at nematodes under a microscope
during potato field day at the Hermiston Agricultural
Research and Extension Center.
responsible for nematode
resistance. Nematodes are
microscopic parasites that
infect potato roots and suck
out the plant’s nutrients,
causing both internal and
external defects that can
make the crop unmarketable.
Once the genes are identi-
fied, breeders like Sathuvalli
can use them to boos the
resistance of new varieties
over the next decade.
“Probably next year, I
will have some exciting
findings to share with you
all,” Bali said.
Josephine Antwi,
a
postdoctoral researcher at
HAREC, later transitioned
into talking about Lygus
bugs and how the insects
may affect potato yields.
There are two species
of Lygus bugs in the area,
Antwi said, which are widely
distributed and should not be
confused with aphids. What
Antwi is still trying to figure
out is whether the bugs are
capable of transmitting
harmful purple top virus,
and how many insects are
too many for potatoes to
handle.
“We are trying to relate
the presence of Lygus bugs
to yield,” Antwi said.
Wednesday marked the
first potato field day for
Ruijun Qin, the station
agronomist who was hired
last year to replace Don
Horneck. Qin recently
started field trials with
Sathuvalli looking into the
best nutrient management
practices for Echo Russet
and Castle Russet potatoes,
so farmers will know what to
do and what to expect if they
decide to plant new varieties
in their own fields.
Ken Frost, plant pathol-
ogist at HAREC, wrapped
things up by delving into
disease concerns this year.
Late blight has an especially
high probability of turning
up around Hermiston given
the region’s cool, wet spring.
“We’re going to see it
sometime this year,” Frost
said. “The problem is we
don’t know when or where.”
HAREC station manager
Phil Hamm said field day is
an opportunity for growers
to see (and touch) for them-
selves how the facility’s
research can help them
improve their success.
“This station is about
you,” Hamm told them.
———
Contact George Plaven
at gplaven@eastoregonian.
com or 541-966-0825.
Firefighters and a fuel
supplier joined forced
Tuesday to deal with a
wrecked semi north of Pend-
leton hauling two tankers
full of gas.
The East Umatilla County
Rural Fire Protection District
in a written statement
reported five of its members
and one firefighter from
the Helix Fire Department
responded around 10:45
a.m. to Highway 37 between
milepost 15 and 16 for a
tanker truck blocking the
road and leaking oil. The fire
district team arrived about
11:30 a.m. and the second
of the two gas tankers had
rolled on its side and back
onto all four wheels.
The second tank had a
“crimp” on the front end and
several on the side from the
impact, the district reported.
After assessing the situa-
tion, crews applied large
absorbing mats to the crimps
to stop the leaks and absorb
oil on the ground.
Contributed photo by Suzie Reitz
A tanker truck wreck Tuesday on Highway 37 required
a complex cleanup that took hours to complete.
The location made for
tough
communication,
according to the district, and
firefighters had to rely on
close-range radio commu-
nication between each other
and the Oregon Department
of Transportation to relay
messages “in case anything
went awry.”
Jim Byrnes of Byrnes Oil
Co., Pendleton assessed the
situation and left to return
useum of Easter
n O
s M
en’
re
r
d
g
hil
with what was needed to take
care of the tanker. Around
1:30 p.m., according to the
statement, workers pounded
grounding rods into the dirt
to discharge static electricity,
which can build up when
transferring fluid fuel. And
20 minutes later they started
offloading fuel from the
tank, completing the task at
2:12 p.m. The firefighters
left an hour later.
TOMORROW!
FRIDAY JUNE 23
on
Potato lovers rejoice.
Two new spud varieties are
coming soon to the Pacific
Northwest.
Echo Russet and Castle
Russet — developed by the
Tri-State Potato Breeding
Program
that
includes
Oregon, Washington and
Idaho — are just about ready
to be released commercially,
according to Sagar Sathu-
valli with Oregon State
University.
Sathuvalli, a potato
breeder at OSU’s Hermiston
Agricultural
Research
and Experiment Center,
discussed the traits of each
variety with local growers
during the station’s annual
potato field day Wednesday.
Both varieties boast high
yields and good cooking
quality, and can be used
either for french fries or
fresh market.
Getting to this point is
no small feat, Sathuvalli
explained. From the time
breeding begins to when
the potatoes are approved
for release, it usually takes
12-15 years of rigorous field
trials.
Echo Russet — named
for the nearby town — and
Castle Russet are about to
cross that finish line. The
Capital Press reports that the
Potato Variety Management
Institute, which handles
licensing and royalties
for Tri-State varieties, has
decided to release the latest
creations in December.
“We should have approval
very soon,” Sathuvalli said.
Potato field day also
featured updates on research
projects to help farmers
control pesky Lygus bugs,
manage various diseases and
thwart parasitic nematodes.
Sapinder Bali, who works
with Sathuvalli in the potato
breeding program, said they
are still working to pin down
the specific genes in potatoes
East Oregonian
C
Thursday, June 22, 2017
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