The U.S. dairy industry loses more than $1.5 billion is each year as a result of heat stress. “Cow showers” may help, giving animals the opportunity to use water to cool down. Photo by: Sylvia Wright / UC Davis.

Issue

Environmental and management stressors erode efficiency and cost livestock production enterprises billions of dollars annually in lost potential profitability. For example, in the absence of heat abatement measures, total losses across all animal classes averaged $2.4 billion annually as of 2003. Of the total, reduction in milk production potential represented a major portion of the losses to the dairy industry, averaging $897 million to $1.5 billion. Adverse weather conditions, including the effects of hot and cold climatic conditions, are particularly difficult for confinement beef cattle feeding enterprises.

What has the project done so far?

Outputs of the project’s collaborations are documented by the researchers’ commitment to dissemination and publication of research results via national and international activities in the last 4 years. Project members have published 97 peer-reviewed manuscripts and 144 other scientific papers. Nearly all of these documents contain shared authorship among participating project stations. Ongoing accomplishments of the group are a result of interactions among research scientists trained in a variety of disciplines and with expertise in a broad range of livestock species. This comparative and multi-disciplinary approach uniquely facilitates the expansion of research capabilities among group participants. Project researchers are regular participants and/or invited speakers in special sessions and symposia on the biology of stress in livestock at national and international meetings and are working collaboratively on resource materials for a textbook, Thermal Biology of Domestic Animals, to be published in 2012. They have published collaborative review articles aimed at addressing updates and/or changes in guidelines for livestock. Members routinely share resources and expertise in research, and this includes significant interactions among project participant laboratories, multi-institutional research projects, and joint meetings with other multi-state working groups with related focus areas. The collaborative interdependence among stations originally envisioned for multi-state projects is prominent in this research group.

Impact Statements

Collectively, research directed toward project objectives has advanced understanding of the biology of stress response components and measures of animal well-being. These cooperative efforts have identified management practices that improve animal environments and reduce animal stress. Use of the dynamic response measurements/indices has given researchers a basis to predict when an animal is under stress or distress and in need of attention. This information has already become, or will soon become, readily usable for direct application in animal production systems to reduce animal stress and increase animal productivity resulting in increases in net income for livestock enterprises.

Research Needs for Future Impacts

The future research needs for this group are to: 1) identify strategies for developing and monitoring appropriate measures of animal stress and well-being, 2) assess genetic components, including genomics and proteomics, of animal stress and well-being, and 3) develop alternative management practices to reduce stress and improve animal well-being and performance. These research needs will be addressed through collaborative research efforts by participating members of W-1173.

Contact Information

C. Colin Kaltenbach, kltnbch@ag.arizona.edu

Studying shade use in dairy cattle. Photo by Cassandra Tucker.

Issue

Rangelands are the most extensive class of lands in the 11 western states, encompassing 70% of the land area. Rangelands provide forage for livestock, habitat for wildlife, watersheds that clean and filter drinking water, and recreational opportunities. Map courtesy of rangelandswest.org.

Rangelands, the most extensive class of lands in the 11 western states (70 percent of land area), provide many ecological services, including forage production, wildlife habitat, watersheds, and recreation. Rangelands managed by federal and state agencies are commonly used by livestock operators as a critical component to whole ranch systems. An issue in management and conservation of these lands is the ability of state land-grant universities (LGUs) to provide quality information and support through the Internet. This requires collaboration among subject, information, and technology experts. The Rangelands West Partnership, a collaboration of rangeland specialists and agricultural and natural resource librarians from 19 western LGUs, is building a comprehensive Web resource for rangelands information as part of the Agriculture Network Information Center (AgNIC) and eXtension initiatives. WERA-1008 has formalized and facilitated this LGU partnership in the implementation and maintenance of state and regional Web portals. The Partnership’s mission is to provide researchers, educators, and public and private land managers with electronic access to the full scope of research and educational information in the fields of rangeland ecology, management, and conservation by collecting, creating, evaluating, and organizing relevant data, information, and learning materials.

What has the project done so far?

www.rangelandswest.com is a resource for scientists, educators, and public and private land managers.

An interdisciplinary team at the University of Arizona (UA), made up of rangeland scientists, librarians/information specialists, and IT experts, has been involved in developing a Web portal of rangeland management resources for more than 12 years. This led to the formation of the Partnership and development of the Rangelands West portal (http://rangelandswest.org). The current portal contains a searchable database of approximately 1,500 vetted publications and Web site links that include information on hot issues, direct links to a repository of journal articles from the Society for Range Management (SRM), and links to each of the 19 state Rangelands West Web sites. Primary audiences include rangeland scientists, educators, outreach professionals, and public and private land managers. In 2005, the Partnership became a Multistate Research Project and established and adopted a governing and operating structure. In addition to maintaining the Web portal, the Partnership has successfully sought and received funding to support project activities that include development of a stakeholder survey and training sessions for users of the Web portal, as well as development of an eXtension Range Management Community of Practice. In addition, the Partnership received a USDA-NIFA International Science and Education grant in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). This grant is supporting a full redesign and expansion of the portal, drawing on the latest technological advances. To increase awareness of the Web portal, the Partnership has held two symposia at SRM Annual meetings and signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the organization for continued collaboration. The Partnership continues to identify new partners to expand and keep the portal current and relevant. Currently, agreements are being negotiated with the Australian Rangeland Society, the Grassland Society of Southern Africa, and the University of Sonora, in Mexico.

Dr. Mitch McClaran, director for research at the Santa Rita Experimental Range, shows WERA-1008 participants around the 50,000 acre site, a living laboratory where over 100 scientists study Southwestern agricultural sustainability.

Impact Statements

• Awarded and successfully completed USDA Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education (SARE) professional development grant that involved and trained more than 40 ranchers and public land managers (2004 to 2007), better equipping them to utilize online tools more effectively for land management decisions.
• Conducted survey of agriculture and natural resource advisors (4 to 8 from each state in the Partnership) on critical sustainable rangeland management issues that contributed to the development of the hot topics section of the Rangelands West portal (2005).
• Conducted workshop entitled “Sustainable Rangeland Management—On the Cutting Edge” for agriculture and natural resource advisers (32 participants), exploring sustainable rangeland management issues across the West, including vegetation monitoring programs and management of invasive species (2005).
• Maintained Rangelands West portal and collected usage statistics on site visitations numbering hundreds of thousands per year.
• Gained funding from the UA Libraries’ Strategic Plan funds to conduct a needs assessment (see next bullet) and to develop a business plan. Both were completed and used as the framework for restructuring for sustainability of the project (2008 to 2009).
• Conducted online survey of Rangeland Management Information Needs and Preferences.  The survey was sent to 1,066 potential participants in 13 states, with 196 (18.4 percent) participating. Also conducted focus group sessions with stakeholders in Washington, Hawaii, Arizona, Oklahoma, and Oregon (24 total participants). Identified user needs were incorporated in the technical needs assessment for the third phase portal redesign, including creation of a system that will automatically update content frequently, providing relevant search results, full-text repositories of documents and images, local information resources, and tools to foster networking.
• Held official “launch” workshop at UA for the Global Rangelands/Rangelands West USDA-supported project with FAO partners (2010), who provided assistance in implementing an open-access, controlled-vocabulary technical infrastructure.
• Presented first iteration of the Global Rangelands/Rangelands West portals at a symposium at the SRM annual meeting. Conducted four focus groups to gain stakeholder input. This led to simplifying the search interface and to keeping a U.S. focus for the Rangelands West portal (2011).

Research Needs for Future Impacts

The Partnership is expanding the focus of the portal to provide information on rangelands on a global basis. To support this effort the Partnership is in the process of establishing formal agreements with rangeland organizations in Australia, Mexico, and South Africa. In addition, the new Global Rangelands/Rangelands West database repository, which already contains more than 10,000 resources, will be launched in the fall of 2011. Full site usage analytics will be tracked and provided in subsequent WERA-1008 annual reports.

Contact Information

Bret Hess, brethess@uwyo.edu and John Tanaka, jtanaka@uwyo.edu

The 13 western states and the Pacific Trust Territories represent 50% of the U.S. land area; cover more than 25% of the globe and, according to the latest data from the National Agricultural Statistic Service, accounts for 23.1% of the value of all crops. More than 400 different commodities, most of which are specialty crops, are commercially produced in the West. Examples include:

• Four western states (CA, WA, OR and ID) produce 64% of the value of specialty crop production of the top ten specialty crop producing states.
• California (#1) and Oregon (#3) account for more than 40% of the total value of nursery, greenhouse, floriculture, and sod production in the U.S.
• Western states account for over 50% of the total value of U.S. milk/dairy product sales; California is #1 and Idaho is 5^th.
• Three western states (CA, OR, WA) produce more than 71% of all fruit grown in the U.S. with a value exceeding $13.7 billion.
• California was the largest producer of horticultural crops with over $2.3 billion in sales in 2009; almost twice as much as the next largest state, Florida ($1.3 billion), Oregon ranked third at $791 million
• Three western states, CO, CA and WY ranked 2^nd, 3^rd and 6^th in sheep sales.
• More than a half of all U.S. organic sales is grown in California (38.4%), Washington (9.3%) and Oregon (5.2%)

An Arizona Department of Fish and Game biologist releases a Mexican wolf. Photo courtesy of AZDFG.

Issue

The management and recovery of the translocated Mexican wolf in Arizona and New Mexico is the responsibility of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and state and tribal wildlife departments. Many of the decisions made regarding wolf management and research are guided—and often hampered—by politics. There is a need for a research team independent of federal, state, tribal, and local politics to be able to study Mexican wolves so that better and unbiased data can be collected to enhance the data being collected by state and federal biologists. The Mexican wolf recovery program is one of the most expensive in the United States, and considerable data are still needed so that informed recovery decisions can be made with the best information available. Millions of dollars can be allocated elsewhere once successful recovery occurs. The cooperation of this project’s independent group of scientists will assist with the timely management and recovery of this endangered wolf.

Wildlife managers monitor radio-collared Mexican wolves using radio-telemetry. Photo courtesy of USDA.

What has the project done so far?

The program met yearly for 5 years. Participants included researchers and managers from federal (U.S. FWS, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Geological Survey) and state (Arizona Game and Fish Department, New Mexico Department of Game and Fish) agencies, as well as universities (University of Arizona, Texas Tech University, University of Montana). The annual meetings brought together scientists and managers working on a wide variety of Mexican wolf scientific issues and fostered communication among agency managers and biologists and university researchers, all working directly or indirectly with Mexican wolf recovery. The discussions allowed research priorities to be developed in a more structured setting, with priorities initiated by managers and conservationists and relayed directly to researchers. At the last meeting, group members initiated discussions about obtaining funds for new research projects, because they see this as the most effective way to add impact to what the team is already doing. Such funding would be distributed by the team as seed funds to new projects that address high-priority issues. The team believes that this will go far toward the goal of getting the wolf delisted as an endangered species.

The locations of radio-collared Mexican wolves from April-June, 2011. Map courtesy of the USFWS.

Impact Statements

• Brought together researchers and managers from federal and state agencies and universities, fostering better coordination of Mexican wolf recovery.
• Worked independently of—but coordinated with—federal and state Mexican wolf recovery programs, enhancing the research needed for better management and recovery.
• Set research priorities based on input from federal and state recovery programs to best enhance recovery of the Mexican wolf.
• Advised Mexican wolf management efforts based on results of the latest research on management in the wild, genetic issues, social aspects, and activities with the captive breeding program.

Research Needs for Future Impacts

Continued coordination for Mexican wolf scientific research is needed, but for the impact of this team to be realized, some level of funding needs to be available to the team (which represents a broad range of scientific and management expertise). These seed funds would be disbursed by the team to new projects to address research interests identified by the scientific team as relevant to Mexican wolf recovery. In particular, research is needed on the low growth rate of the Mexican wolf population, which is the most significant issue currently preventing full

recovery of this species. This multistate team determined that pup recruitment was currently the best research avenue to pursue. Pup recruitment research would attempt to assess why recruitment is poor, and it would attempt to improve recruitment.

Contact Information

C. Colin Kaltenbach, kltnbch@ag.arizona.edu

A University of Wyoming researcher prepares a sperm sample for artifical insemination in a Suffolk ewe. Photo courtesty of the University of Wyoming.

Issue

Poor reproductive efficiency in domestic ruminants, widely regarded as the most limiting factor to profitability in animal production systems, is a growing problem in the West. Livestock production is a critical component of the economic health of the western states, and the U.S. supply of livestock and products is dependent on the production efficiency of western farms and ranches. The project’s primary stakeholders are farmers and ranchers in the West, but the work has broad applicability to these industries nationwide. Secondary stakeholders are consumers of animal products, who benefit from reduced prices associated with efficient animal production systems. Additional stakeholders include citizens of communities in the West whose economies are improved by their proximity to profitable and sustainable animal industries. This cooperative research group seeks to bring both basic and applied expertise to bear on factors that limit fertility in these animals and to provide product and technique development and outreach for the benefit of animal producers in the western region.

What has the project done so far?

Established in 1970, this project’s original purpose was to combine basic and applied expertise to determine factors and develop methods to improve fertility of domestic ruminants in the Western states. The project now involves scientists from 18 states where more than 50 percent of the nation’s breeding cows (beef and dairy) and 64 percent of its breeding ewes exist. The original philosophy and mission—to conduct cooperative multi-state research that provides product and technique development and outreach for the benefit of animal producers in the Western region—continue to guide the group. From 2006 to 2011, project participants generated 349 refereed publications and technical bulletins and seven book chapters, and a symposium of research findings was presented to a nationwide audience of livestock producers at the 2007 Beef Improvement Federation Meetings in Fort Collins, Colorado. Related current and previous research by project participants continues to be based on the premise that applied research experiments stem from a foundation of previous basic research studies. 

Tom Geary, a USDA scientists performs an ultrasound on a pregnant cow. Photo courtesy of USDA.

Impact Statements

• Project researchers developed more effective estrus synchronization methods. These served as a design for new protocols that increased pregnancy rates to artificial insemination by 10 to 15 percent compared to traditional programs. Implementation of this approach with 10 percent of U.S. beef and dairy cows could result in an enhanced profitability of approximately $31 million (through reduced days from calving to conception) and a $40 million savings due to a reduction in cow replacement rate. These values represent an overall economic impact of greater than $400 million to the U.S. cattle industry when considering multiplicative factors of 5 to 10 due to effects on allied industries.
• Feed supplied to pregnant animals is the single largest expense incurred in production of offspring. Using residual feed intakes (defined as the difference between an animal’s actual feed intake and their predicted feed intake), animals that most effectively use feed resources can be identified, resulting in annual savings of $20 to $40 per cow. On a national basis, this technology has the potential to save cow-calf producers $800 million to $1.6 billion in annual feed costs.
• The development of a vaccine for epizootic bovine abortion (EBA) could save beef producers in California alone $10 to $15 million annually due to increased numbers of calves born.
• The development of methods to control bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) would increase calf viability, resulting in an annual savings of $481 to $632.5 million for U.S. cow-calf producers.
• Cows exposed to bull biostimulation exhibit an increase in artificial insemination rates of up to 20 percent.
• Efforts for U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of progesterone CIDR (controlled intravaginal drug release) insert use in sheep for synchronization of breeding provides producers a method to shorten lambing intervals, increase pregnancy rates, and reduce the number of open ewes in a flock.
• Selection of calves based on temperament has the potential to increase weaning weights by 5 to 6 percent and provide a 15- to 18-pound advantage in body weight gain in stocker calf operations.
• Gaining a better understanding of mechanisms that affect early embryonic loss, animal reproductive behavior, gamete quality, and prenatal programming will dramatically affect pounds of marketable animals/product for producers, increasing their profitability.
• Each day the postpartum interval is lengthened for the beef cow there is a loss of 2 pounds of weaning weight, with a $2.40 loss per day. Increasing pregnancy rates by 20 percent would result in 20 percent of the calves being 21 days older, 42 pounds heavier, and worth $50 more per calf at weaning. For every 1,000 cows artificially inseminated, the increased value of calves at weaning would be $10,000.

Research Needs for Future Impacts

In spite of significant improvements, reproductive efficiency is still widely regarded as the most limiting factor to profitability in animal production systems. Further work in this regard is still the number one priority of this project.

Contact Information

C. Colin Kaltenbach, kltnbch@ag.arizona.edu

Russian wheat aphid damage. Photo courtesy of Tom Royer, Oklahoma State University.

Issue

Insect pests, including Russian wheat aphid (Diuraphis noxia), greenbug (Schizaphis graminum), and Hessian fly (Mayetiola destructor), are serious pests of cereal crops in the United States. Since its introduction into Texas in 1986, Russian wheat aphid (RWA) has spread throughout the western Great Plains cereal production area, the Pacific Northwest, and the desert Southwest. The total economic damage in the United States caused by RWA has exceeded $1 billion since 1986, considering crop loss, cost of pest control, and lost revenue to rural economies. Severe economic damage from greenbug and Hessian fly (HF) occurs throughout the West, and several other arthropods can also seriously impact wheat, barley, and oat production in the region. A primary goal of this group is to share research necessary to address comprehensive management of these pests in small grain cropping systems in the West and to shorten the time from initial research activity to adoption by the end user.

"Hatcher" winter wheat, resistant to some Russian wheat aphid biotypes, grows in a field trial in Colorado. Photo courtesy of Colorado State University.

What has the project done so far?

• With the development of RWA biotypes, WERA-066 has focused on characterizing differences among biotypes and on developing a naming protocol. This has resulted in a naming system that has been widely adopted beyond the committee.
• Identifying and characterizing new RWA biotypes and monitoring their geographic spread has provided growers with knowledge critical to variety selection and to deploying appropriate management tactics.
• A chief tactic in the management of RWA is the development of wheat and barley varieties that are resistant to RWA. Even with the advent of biotypes that have the ability to overcome resistance in some lines of cereals, the resistant varieties are still widely planted. For example, in Colorado, more than 50 percent of all acres are planted to resistant lines. WERA-066 serves as a coordination tool among cereal breeders interested in RWA resistance.
• Wheat and barley lines resistant to biotype RWA2 and other biotypes are advancing in breeding programs. Resistant cereal lines are being researched for HF, wheat stem sawfly, and wheat midge.
• Understanding the nature of damage caused by various biotypes of RWA, HF, and other cereal arthropod pests is a key factor in developing resistance in cereal varieties that is durable (i.e., resistance that is not rapidly overcome by the pest). Ongoing studies are yielding important results regarding gene expression in wheat when fed upon by different biotypes of RWA and HF.
• Molecular and population genetics studies of several pest species have shed new light on the formation of biotypes.
• Field ecology studies, particularly of RWA and HF, provided critical input into the development of sustainable pest management systems.
• RWA, HF, wheat stem sawfly, wheat midge, grasshoppers, various grain aphids, and other arthropod pests of wheat are monitored regularly in several participating states. Results communicated to growers enable them to be cognizant of pest pressures and likely future pressures when making management decisions.
• A 2010 USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program (RAMP) grant has several WERA-066 members as investigators, and their collaboration was facilitated by the activities of WERA-066. The goals of the RAMP project include pest, disease, and weed surveillance; surveys of regional IPM practices in wheat; and the development of an Internet 2 Web site (iWheat) designed to provide real-time regional pest, disease, and weed survey and management information. This will greatly enhance the ability of WERA-066 members to engage with the wheat industry.

Colorado State University researcher Scott Merrill mixes aphids with Cream of Wheat to immobilize them. He will apply this mixture to fields in early winter and re-sample in the spring to see how well the aphids survived the winter. Photo courtesy of Scott Merrill.

Impact Statements

WERA-066 has:

• Improved knowledge of cereal arthropods among scientists, producers, and other interested clientele.
• Monitored for newly introduced pests or the development and spread of new, more damaging biotypes.
• Developed new or improved management practices for cereal arthropods, including resistant varieties and biological control. These practices, together with chemical control practices validated through local testing, provide farmers with tools that can be integrated into reasonably effective pest management systems for most cereal pests. However, the system is far from ideal, and the pest situation continues to present new challenges through evolution within pest species and through establishment of new pest species.

Research Needs for Future Impacts

• Continued coordination of biological control, host plant resistance, and cropping system research to develop more effective management systems.
• Continued coordination of research in genetics, genomics, physiology, taxonomy, and ecology of arthropod pests and their natural enemies that aid in implementing integrated management strategies in diverse agricultural systems.
• Continued enhancement of the development of resistant varieties by coordinating the identification, monitoring, and characterization of RWA and HF biotypes.
• Increased host plant resistance to arthropods in commercial cultivars of small grains in the western United States through coordinated pre-breeding for multiple arthropod resistance via marker-assisted selection and other molecular tools.
• Coordinated research—in wheat genetics, genomics, physiology, and mechanisms of host plant resistance and susceptibility—that facilitates acquisition of basic knowledge that will lead to new management strategies.

Contact Information

Thomas Holtzer, thomas.holtzer@colostate.edu

Beet curly top virus (BCTV) infects a variety of vegetable crops including tomatoes, beans, potatoes, spinach, and beets--pictured here showing symptoms of infection. Photo courtesy of Colorado State University.

Issue

Beet curly top virus (BCTV) is the most widespread geminivirus (DNA virus that infects plants) in the United States. It is endemic in the West, causing economic damage to a wide variety of crops. Transmitted by the beet leafhopper, Circulifer tenellus, the virus infects a broad host range from many plant families. The leafhopper vector also feeds and breeds on an extensive range of plant hosts and can migrate considerable distances. Management of this viral pathogen and its leafhopper vector has proven difficult, and a sustainable management program is needed. Only when many individuals work together across state lines will significant progress in management of BCTV be possible. WERA-1007 meets to discuss, assess, and prioritize required research on BCTV genetics, vector biology and genetics, weed ecology, and disease management and to coordinate interdisciplinary research at a regional level. In addition to this needed coordination, another expected outcome is that the agricultural industry will know about new research on BCTV as it is being done, instead of after publication, and will be able to influence the direction of the research.

What has the project done so far?

Several funded collaborative projects on curly top were undertaken among working group members. One looked at transmission of curly top by the beet leafhopper to resistant tomato varieties. A second collaborative project was a screening for resistance to curly top in chile peppers, and a third compared viral infection in insects with plant infection. A collaborative project for 2011 was established to study the mechanism of resistance to curly top in dry beans.

Floating row covers used to protect newly transplanted tomato plants from beet leafhopper, the vector of curly top virus. Photo courtesy of New Mexico State University.

Impact Statements

The group has made an impact on curly top in the western United States. It has substantially improved communication and collaboration among researchers (including USDA researchers) and Extension personnel. It has helped keep the profile of the disease high so that growers and industry representatives plan for potential disease management and request more information about disease potential in advance of the planting season, instead of waiting to respond after the disease problem is prevalent in the field. Resistance to curly top in several hosts was reported. The use of management strategies, such as reflective mulch and row covers, was tested and reported. A better understanding of insect vector migration, feeding preferences, and vector activity was reported. Several reports were made on disease incidence in different locations in the West. Information on viral recombination was presented. These types of research and subsequent papers provided necessary background information on the nature and extent of curly top disease and the potential for predicting disease occurrence in future years. This research also helped predict the types of plant disease resistance screening that needs to occur to better assess potential new plant varieties.

Research Needs for Future Impacts

The primary research needs are to 1) understand the reasons for rapid development of new strains of curtoviruses (viruses that cause curly top disease), 2) develop additional plant varieties resistant to curtoviruses, 3) better predict leafhopper population movement, and 4) develop more cost-effective, practical methods for disease management.

Contact Information

Steven Loring, sloring@nmsu.edu

Scientists retrieve trap spotted wing drosphila cider vinegar traps from an orchard.

Issue

Spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii, SWD) was recorded on multiple crops in California during 2008 and 2009 and in British Columbia, Oregon, and Washington in 2009. Producers of stone fruits (cherries and peaches) and small fruits (blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries) experienced substantial economic losses. California growers reported a 25 percent loss of fresh cherries. Several California, Oregon, and Washington berry growers reported 100 percent crop losses in late-ripening small fruits during 2009, and growers in Oregon reported 100 percent crop losses on fresh peaches. Because of the rapid spread and uniqueness of this pest in the United States, very little information is available on SWD biology, monitoring, and management. Information is needed for local strains of SWD (e.g., overwintering capability, spring emergence, seasonal abundance, susceptible fruit stages, and detailed control strategies), and information on integrated and sustainable system-wide control strategies is essential in order to facilitate financial survival of growers. The pest subsequently invaded Florida, North Carolina, Michigan, and beyond.

Experiments conducted at the Oregon State University's fly lab have helped scientists understand fly biology and control options.

What has the project done so far?

This project has served as a framework for information exchange among multiple states on research and related extension activities needed for management of SWD. Prior to funding of an SWD Specialty Crop Research Initiative (SCRI) grant in late summer of 2010, Oregon State University hosted a stakeholder meeting in Portland, on March 30, 2010. In the morning session, approximately 20 scientists participated from California, Washington, Oregon, Canada, Michigan, and Florida, including participants from state, federal, and private industry. The afternoon session provided approximately 130 stakeholder/industry/extension agent participants the opportunity to learn about SWD and do hands-on projects, including identifying SWD and its life cycle, building monitoring traps, detecting the pest, introducing an SWD Web site, reporting data, reviewing control options, etc. This session was critical in helping to identify additional funding sources for research in Oregon and beyond.

In November 2010, the SWD SCRI participants met with the stakeholder group for that grant. In addition to presenting research and outreach accomplishments to date, project participants for Michigan, North Carolina, Florida, and Utah presented their own experiences.

Following the November 2010 session with stakeholders, the SWD SCRI scientists were joined by other W-504 members for an Adobe Connect conference in March 2011. Publications are pending from that full-day session. The fall meeting for the SWD SCRI stakeholder advisory group is scheduled for November 9 and 10, 2011, and members of W-504 will meet jointly with them. A new 5-year Education/Extension and Research project to succeed W-504 is being planned.

Summaries of research outcomes are being provided in a variety of ways that are specific to the location of the researcher. Research outcomes for Oregon and Washington can be accessed at http://swd.hort.oregonstate.edu/. (Links to the work at other institutions can also be found via this Web page.) The following Web sites provide information for other locations:

• Michigan: http://www.ipm.msu.edu/SWD.htm
• North Carolina: http://ncsmallfruitsipm.blogspot.com/search/label/SWD
• Utah: http://extension.usu.edu/files/publications/publication/ENT-140-10.pdf

Impact Statements

• Creation of this rapid-response project allowed the coordination and development of human capital far beyond the western region.
• This project created a framework for multistate cooperation and collaboration around control of this new pest and provided evidence of SWD’s importance to state and national leaders.
• The project has ensured continued collaborations to determine the most effective sustainable control options for SWD based on effective monitoring, susceptible life stages, and timing of control.
• Project participants have developed training programs for identification and management of SWD and provided resources to growers. Detection of the pest and the use of thresholds for control before application of chemicals have reduced the amount of chemicals applied, providing an economic advantage for growers and reducing environmental and health risks for applicators and consumers.
• This multistate project provides opportunities for researchers across the United States, Canada, and beyond to collaborate and respond to this nationally and internationally important pest.

Research Needs for Future Impacts

Beyond the need to have further research projects funded, additional information is needed on biology and alternate control options, especially for organic growers. Assessing the value of training/control programs, both in terms of effectiveness and economic return, is also needed. Providing an ongoing national coordination of the research and education/extension efforts for management of this pest will reduce duplicate efforts and provide broad benefit to growers and consumers.

Contact Information

Stella Melugin Coakley, stella.coakley@oregonstate.edu

Issue:

Clams and oysters are the most economically important groups of mollusks in the United States. Total commercial landings of all clam species in 2004 were valued at $117 million. Commercial landings of Eastern oysters in 2004 were valued at $111 million, and production of Pacific oysters on the West Coast in 2003 was valued at $63 million. Diseases and overfishing have contributed to major declines in the oyster harvest on the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts. Although the Pacific oyster is not susceptible to major diseases, losses due to “summer mortality” have caused considerable economic damage to the industry. WERA-099 provides a forum for coordination of research among U.S. and international molluscan geneticists, physiologists, and pathologists to exchange ideas and information on genetics, reproduction, diseases, chromosome and genetic manipulation techniques, broodstock management, and breeding programs. This coordination allows researchers to reduce duplication of efforts and costs; identify research needs for enhancement of commercial molluscan production through genetic improvement; evaluate different approaches for restoration of depleted stocks of native oysters; and provide industry members with up-to-date research information that will lead to optimal broodstock management and breeding programs to enhance commercial production nationwide.

Chris Langdon, Oregon State University’s oyster breeder, keeps track of the progress of males and females in dozens of families and generations of Kumamoto oysters. Photo by Lynn Ketchum.

What has the project done so far?

This project has provided a forum for U.S. and international molluscan researchers to exchange ideas and information. Discussions among project researchers have helped to modify current breeding programs to make them more efficient. Proposal and research activities have been coordinated and leveraged. International developments have been factored into U.S. efforts. For example, project researchers learned from international participants about strategies to transfer selected broodstock and information to industry.

Impact Statements:

• Continued conversations among researchers are resulting in development of markers for marker-assisted selection that could be used in more efficient breeding programs to produce disease-resistant strains.
• Research efforts are geared to provide industry with stocks, families, and lines that show improved performance.
• International efforts to map the genome of the Pacific and Eastern oyster and to sequence the genome of the Pacific oyster are moving forward. Exchange of information on the development of new maps and mapping techniques will lead to a better understanding of the genetic basis of disease resistance in Eastern oysters as well as growth and survival in farmed Pacific oysters.
• The West Coast has made progress in understanding larval survival related to coastal and hatchery water quality, coastal upwelling and ocean acidification, and Vibrio tubiashii (a bacterium that attacks oysters).
• Monitoring of Virginia oyster restoration efforts has shown little evidence of reproduction and dispersion.
• Release of improved oysters as sterile triploids in cages has raised interest in oyster aquaculture in the Chesapeake Bay.
• Project researchers are working with industry to develop markers (to diagnose disease status) for certain characteristics that interest farmers. The goal is to provide tools rather than broodstock.
• The clam culture industry is rapidly expanding in the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute region.

Scientists are working in partnership with the oyster industry to improve the health and performance of Pacific oysters.

Research Needs for Future Impacts:

• The USDA-NIFA funded West Coast Molluscan Broodstock Program (MBP) has lost funding as a Congressional Special Research Grant program and will focus on transferring developed breeding technologies and improved broodstock to industry.
• The West Coast USDA-Agricultural Research Service (ARS) oyster genetics program will revitalize its quantitative genetic research efforts by developing direct partnerships with industry. These partnerships will use mixed-family approaches to conduct more sophisticated experiments on larval traits under more relevant conditions.
• Major challenges remain for the West Coast industry if water quality issues cannot be mitigated.
• Testing sterile triploids planted for disease resistance, shelf life, hybrid vigor, and production improvement is needed.
• Better understanding of the oyster transcriptome (the set of all RNA molecules in one or a group of cells) and genome should be used to develop high-density SNP chips (silicon chips used to identify the presence of specific DNA sequences) or, alternatively, to develop low-density chips which may provide the necessary resolution at a lower cost.

Contact Information:

Christopher J. Langdon, participating scientist, chris.langdon@oregonstate.edu

Issue:

Virus and virus-like diseases in potatoes in the West create a costly situation requiring limited-generation seed programs and the use of multiple pesticides to minimize yield and quality losses in commercial crops. Substantial yield losses and rejections of seed lots for certification have resulted in tremendous dollar losses to growers. Public and environmental concerns surround the use of pesticides on potatoes. In addition, potato growers face potential registration cancellation of key pesticides and the difficulties of developing new information for re-registration or development of new pesticides. Pest resistance to current pesticides is always of concern. Loss of pesticides or pesticide effectiveness will increase yield and quality losses if alternative solutions are not developed. This group provides a regional forum for collaboration among potato virus disease researchers and the dissemination of information on control strategies. The group also advises regional and national organizations, evaluating concerns, recommending policies, and reviewing quarantine and seed certification issues with the goal to improve plant health and crop sustainability.

Potato plants showing symptoms of potato virus Y infection. Photo by Nina Zidack, Montana State University.

What has the project done so far?

Members have organized several annual meetings to discuss current concerns regarding virus and virus-like diseases occurring in potato crops. This forum has also included presentations of ongoing research on potato viruses and virus-like diseases, their vectors, and alternate hosts. In addition, participants have considered research priorities for upcoming years. Sub-groups were formed to work on specific projects throughout the year, including development of educational materials, presentations, and reference sheets.

Impact Statements:

• Early response and prevention of emerging diseases: The WERA-089 network responds to reports and findings of new viruses and vector-transmitted diseases detected in potato fields. These responses include diagnosis and characterization of new or uncommon disease agents, identification of potential vectors, description of disease etiology and epidemiology, and development of appropriate management or control strategies and practices. Some recent diseases that participants have been involved with include PVYNTN (a strain of potato virus Y), PMTV (potato mop top virus), TRV (tobacco rattle virus), TSWV (tomato spotted wilt virus), AMV (alfalfa mosaic virus), purple top, and zebra chip.
• Project participants have characterized new strains of PVY (potato virus Y) and assessed the impact of tuber-borne infection by different strains of PVY on different potato cultivars on potato yield and quality. Identifying the components of the tuber necrotic complex and developing new diagnostic tools will allow heightened confidence in the diagnoses of viruses when high seed volumes move interstate for recertification and for commercial planting. Seed with internal necrosis due to PVY cannot be used for planting commercial potatoes. The PVY survey and the Canadian quality assurance survey will provide information about the health status of seed.
• Research by project participants demonstrated there is a PVY strain-aphid vector species interaction and that transmission efficiency and transmission properties differ among different strain-aphid combinations. It was also demonstrated that hairy nightshade is a significant source of both virus and aphids, so managing the alternate hosts of PVY and its vectors is strongly recommended as part of any devised virus management plan. This can be accomplished primarily by collaborating with state commodity commissions, agricultural departments, and seed certification agencies. Management of alternate hosts is necessary for PVY control, and appropriate recommendations will be a component of Regional Best Management Practices for PVY as they are developed and published by project participants.
• Potato growers in the Pacific Northwest have recently experienced serious outbreaks of potato purple top disease. These outbreaks have caused significant yield losses and reductions in tuber processing quality. Research by project participants demonstrated that this disease is caused by BLTVA (beet leafhopper-transmitted virescence agent) phytoplasma. Project researchers described the phenology of the beet leafhopper in the Pacific Northwest and determined the seasonal incidence of BLTVA phytoplasma in local populations of leafhoppers. Group members determined there are significant differences in susceptibility to purple top among potato cultivars important to the Pacific Northwest and discovered that potato plants of younger growth stages are more susceptible to the disease than older ones. Information from this research is helping potato growers in the Pacific Northwest to effectively manage the beet leafhopper by timely and appropriately insecticide applications to reduce incidence of purple top disease.
• Project participants discovered that zebra chip, a new and damaging potato disease in the southwestern and central United States, Mexico, Central America, and New Zealand, is associated with a previously undescribed species of the bacterium Liberibacter, and is transmitted by the potato psyllid. Development of effective management strategies for the potato psyllid is under way to minimize damage caused by this potato disease.

Potatoes infected with zebra chip develop unsightly dark lines that resemble the stripes of a zebra. Photo by Joseph Munyaneza, USDA-ARS.

Research Needs for Future Impacts:

Continue to provide a regional forum for the exchange of ideas through cooperation and collaboration among those involved in potato virus and virus-like disease research, with the long-term goal of improving plant health and crop sustainability. Continue to assist participants in the identification, transfer, and utilization of knowledge, methods, and resources that will be directed toward dissemination of information to concerned parties for implementation of potato virus and virus-like disease control strategies. Continue to act in an advisory capacity with regional and national organizations to evaluate concerns, recommend policies, and review quarantine and seed certification issues and other pertinent matters as they relate to potato viruses or virus-like organisms and their control.

Contact Information:

Administrative Advisor, Donn Thill, dthill@uidaho.edu