Letter from the Director.
The FY05-06 year was a productive one for the scientists in the Washington State University Agricultural Research Center. Once again, ARC faculty and staff won the largest amount of new research grant funding within the university –$25.08 million. That is in addition to the USDA-CSREES Formula Funds and numerous other external grants appropriated by the ARC. This report outlines just a few of our major successes.
A definite highlight of FY05-06 was completion and celebration of our new Plant Biosciences Building. Funded by the state legislature, the 93,000-square-foot, four-story structure houses 30 research labs and lab support areas on three secured upper floors. Four major teaching labs with adjacent equipment demonstration and support areas are located on the first floor along with a study lounge. The building is the first in what eventually may become a complex of seven interconnected buildings. The complex will bring state and federal scientists with similar interests into close proximity, fostering collaboration in plant biosciences research.
Researchers in the new facility and other labs on the Pullman campus, at WSU’s ten Research and Extension Centers and field locations throughout the state are engaged in approximately 400 projects aimed at addressing the needs of Washingtonians and the nation. They are developing and leveraging basic science to ensure that our farms and industries can compete in the global economy with quality products, to protect the security of our food and fiber systems, to keep our population healthy and well nourished, our natural resources and environment protected, and to enhance economic opportunity for individuals, businesses and community.
For example, Professor B.W. (Joe) Poovaiah and research associate Liqun Du have discovered a way to control the ultimate size of a plant. By altering a specific gene, they were able to change the size of the plant that grew from an experimental seed. Different alterations led to different size plants, showing that plants might be "size-engineered" to fit the needs of growers, a possibly potent tool against worldwide hunger. Dwarf plants use less water and are more resistant to wind and rain damage than normal-size plants, Poovaiah explains. They devote a greater proportion of their energy to producing seeds or fruit rather than stems and leaves.
Matt Whiting, a researcher with the WSU Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, is working to perfect a mechanical alternative to hand-picking fresh sweet cherries. Cherries are the most labor intensive fruit crop and one of the fastest growing fresh fruit exports in the Northwest. Whiting says cherry harvest costs typically account for 50 to 60 percent of annual expenses for growers; a producer could save around 24 cents per pound by using a mechanical cherry harvester.
Every entry in this report tells a compelling story. Please take a moment from your busy schedule to look over the report. I welcome your questions or comments. You can contact me at AgResearch@wsu.edu or at 509.335.4563.
Ralph P. Cavalieri
Associate Dean, College of Agricultural, Human, and Natural Resource Sciences
Director of the Agricultural Research Center
at 509.335.4563.
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