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Christmas Tree Research Newsletter
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Winter
2000, Volume 1, number 1
Joe Hudack, Ag Research Technologist
WSU Puyallup Research and
Extension Center
7612 Pioneer Way East.
puyallup, WA 98371-4998
253/ 445-4596
E-mail: hudack@puyallup.wsu.edu
Personnel update
The majority oof the special
research funds that WSU Puyallup received from the Pacific
Northwest Christmas Tree Association (PNWCTA)
this past year are being used to support key support personnel
working in our Christmas tree program. Joe Hudak was hired
to work full time with Christmas trees this past spring.
Joe has a master's degree in Plant Pathology from Montana
State University. During the past couple of years, Joe
has split his time between the pesticide education and
Christmas tree/conifer disease programs at Puyallup. Many
of you have had the opportunity to meet Joe this past
summer. He is looking forward to meeting additional growers
this coming year.
Another key person the special research funds support
in part is Kathy Riley. Kathy has worked at WSU-Puyallup
for the past 17 years. She has been involved in much of
the Christmas tree disease research and has conducted
virtually all of the postharvest "keepability"
studies during this time. WSU and the Christmas tree industry
are fortunate to have Kathy as part of the Christmas tree
program at Puyallup. In addition to Joe and Kathy, Paul
Kaufmann joined Gary Chastagner's lab on November 1st.
Paul's position is paid for by the state. Part of his
time will be spent working on Christmas tree pathology
and keepability projects. Paul has a master's degree in
Plant Pathology from the University of Arkansas. He came
to WSU Puyallup from a USDA position at Shafter, CA, where
he was working on cotton.
Grants
In addition to support
from Christmas tree growers, the WSU Christmas tree research
and extension program receives competitive grants from
various sources. Recently the Oregon
Department of Agriculture approved $12,200 to support
work on the management of interior needle blight and root
aphids on noble fir Christmas trees. We also just received
$15,784 from the Washington
State Commission on Pesticide Registration (WSCPR)
to support work on the management of Annosus root rot
on noble fir Christmas trees. A major reason we were successful
in obtaining these grants is the use of PNWCTA funding
as a match for the amounts we were requesting. We offer
special thanks to Marc Fisher for his willingness to be
the official grower representative for the WSCPR proposal.
Root Rot Survey Completed
Traveling many miles and visiting with lots of growers,
we completed the first step in understanding the types
of root rot problems common in western Oregon and Washington.
Joe Hudak collected samples from and surveyed more than
40 growers this summer. Preliminary results show that
Phytophthora was the most prevalent problem, occurring
on 32% of the samples. Annosus Root Rot appeared on 20%
of the samples and Armillaria on 13% of the samples. Other
causes of injury appeared to be associated with cultural
practices, environmental stress, root aphids, and other
plant pathogens. This information is beneficial to us
so we can direct our research on the most prevalent problems.
Thank you to all that participated in the survey to make
it a success.
Christmas Tree Pest
Workshop
A hands-on workshop focusing on insect, weed and disease
pests of Christmas Trees that is being held in Lacey,
WA on January 29th is full. Attendance was limited to
45 people and the workshop filled up rapidly after it
was announced. A similar workshop will likely be scheduled
for 2002.
WANTED: Root Aphids
We need help! We are in search of growers willing to participate
in an Aphistar efficacy trial in the spring or summer
of 2001. We had a difficult time finding an appropriate
site during 2000. Any grower who has smaller trees, a
history of root aphid infestation, and a willingness to
sacrifice a few trees for research, please contact us.
Gary Chastagner and
Kathy Riley spent 3 weeks
during October working at the Forest
and Landscape Research Institute (FLS) in Denmark.
Interest is increasing in growing Nordmann fir in the
PNW because of its high quality foliage and potential
resistance to Phytophthora and Annosus root rots, which
can limit where noble fir Christmas trees will grow. Both
we and FLS geneticist Ulrik Nielsen are working on the
identification of sources of Nordmann fir Christmas trees
having superior needle retention characteristics. This
project has been supported during the past three years
by grants from USDA and the Danish Christmas Tree Growers
Association. We also have conducted studies to compare
the moisture retention characteristics of Danish and PNW
sources of noble fir.
Recent Christmas Tree
Related Publications
Antonelli, A, J. Stark and G. Chastagner. 2000. Floramite:
A new possibility for spruce spider mite control in Christmas
tree plantations. Christmas Tree Lookout 33(3): 31-33.
Chastagner, G. A and D. M. Benson. 2000. The Christmas
tree: Traditions, Production, and Diseases. Plant Health
Progress Online Journal, Oct. 13th (http://www.plantmanagementnetwork.org/sub/php/review/1225tree/)
. Sixty percent of the Christmas trees produced in the
United States come from the PNW and North Carolina. This
publication provides a historical look at the Christmas
tree industry and an overview of some of the major disease
and insect problems that are limiting the production of
noble and Fraser fir Christmas trees.
Chastagner, G. and E. Hinesley. 2000. Maintaining moisture
levels in cut Christmas trees. American Christmas Tree
Journal 44(5): 10-16.
Chastagner, G. A. 2000. Another PNWCTA success story:
Swiss needle cast research. Christmas Tree Lookout 33(3):
18-20.
Project personnel
Project leaders: Gary A Chastagner, Plant Pathologist
John Stark, Environmental Toxicologist and Entomologist
Art Antonelli, Extension Entomologist
Support Personnel:
Joe Hudak, Agriculture Research Technologist II
Kathy Riley, Agriculture Research Technologist II
Paul Kaufmann, Agriculture Research Technologist II
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