In two days, we will be officially seeing a new face in the PNW breeding program. WSU has officially announced the new Endowed Chair of raspberry breeding, Dr. Germán Sandoya, will be joining the team on May 15th! This has been a long time coming (since 2020) and I can confidently say we’re lucky to add Germán to the industry.

We’re starting to get back on track for plant development after the decent weather over the weekend. The cool weather did indeed drop SWD counts down some. I’m hoping that means they were faced with some natural selection but maybe their flight just slowed down temporarily. I’ll keep you posted as the count trend begins to take shape.

We’re starting to get back on track for plant development after the decent weather over the weekend. The cool weather did indeed drop SWD counts down some. I’m hoping that means they were faced with some natural selection but maybe their flight just slowed down temporarily. I’ll keep you posted as the count trend begins to take shape.

Preliminary catches of the first SWD traps were recorded last week, and unfortunately, the numbers were high. Given the mild winters we’ve experienced over the past two years, it’s not surprising that SWD populations have been able to thrive into the new season.

We have a handful of 70f (20c) days under our belts now. According to the beekeepers, Monday afternoon had every.single.grower calling them if they hadn’t had bees in the field yet. I’d say it’s go time!

Frost warnings are appearing in the forecasts across the Pacific Northwest for the upcoming days. Therefore, it’s advisable for everyone to have their frost protection measures prepared if their crops require it.

Frost warnings are appearing in the forecasts across the Pacific Northwest for the upcoming days. Therefore, it’s advisable for everyone to have their frost protection measures prepared if their crops require it.

If you’re a Washington and Oregon Blueberry grower the Oregon IPM Center is updating the Blueberry Integrated Pest Management Strategic Plan (IPMSP) for Oregon and Washington—and your input is essential.