Activity Report

In Q4 of 2022, CAHNRS Communications published 29 online articles highlighting academic accomplishments, research, student accomplishments, and Extension. CAHNRS and Extension websites received 1,064,218 total page views and garnered approximately 650,329 new site visitors. Our audience size and engagement on social media was a total of 204,332 impressions across 3 platforms.

Other Noteworthy Projects

• Launched 6 re-designed websites
• Published 7 new videos
• Produced new tree fruit and SNAP-Ed reports
• 17 new or revised Extension publications completed and posted

Top News Stories

• Highly emotional people drawn to cats for stress relief programs
By Scott Weybright | Published Oct. 24, 2022
Futurity, MSN, Scribd, U.S. News and World Report, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, FOX News, The Colbert Show, FOX41 Yakima, Tulsa World, Lake Geneva Medical News, Medical News Today, Neuroscience News, Cattitude Daily, Veterinary Practice News

• Fresh harvest of WSU’s research-boosting apple hits stores Dec. 1
By Seth Truscott | Nov. 15, 2022
Capital Press, Morning Ag Clips, Industry Update, Fresh Plaza, Washington State Magazine social media

• WSU scientist seeks Christmas trees that can withstand climate change
By Seth Truscott | Dec. 12, 2022
Morning Ag Clips, Yahoo News, Wenatchee World, LinkedIn, Farm Progress

• Lisa DeVetter, Department of Horticulture and WSU Northwestern Washington Research and Extension Center in Mount Vernon, leads a new $8M USDA-funded project to advance soil-biodegradable plastic mulches and develop innovative methods for recycling the regular plastic mulch.
• Patricia Pendry, Department of Human Development, has new research that finds a high level of interest in adding cats to university-based animal-assisted interventions to reduce stress.
• Lav Khot, Department of Biological Systems Engineering, leads a multi-institutional research group that received the National Excellence in Multistate Research Award at the APLU Annual Meeting.
• Gary Chastagner, Department of Plant Pathology and Puyallup Research and Extension Center, is working to safeguard Christmas trees as a crop across the U.S.
• Tom Collins, Department of Viticulture and Enology, traveled to Japan to present his grape smoke exposure research at the American Society for Viticulture and Enology Chapter.

CAHNRS Research and Extension faculty received $22M in extramural support from new and ongoing grants.

A selection of new awards (with award total) is given below:

• Joseph Neibergs (ANR/SES), “Improving the Economic Viability of Agricultural Producers Through Risk Management Education,” USDA NIFA, $2.2M
• Laura Bartley (IBC), “Center for Bioenergy Innovation,” DOE-NNSA, $760K
• Karen Janowitz (Energy Center), “BPA Emerging Technology,” DOE- Bonneville Power Administration, $1.0M
• Helmut Kirchhoff (IBC); Joseph Iannelli (Electrical Engineering and Computer Science); Amit Dhingra (Horticulture); Scot Hulbert (COR); from School of Biological Sciences – Mechthild Tegeder, Tanya Cheeke, Asaph Cousins, Hanjo Hellmann, Stephanie Porter; from IBC – Laura Bartley, Bernd Lange, Sanja Roje; from CSS – Robert Brueggeman, Karen Sanguinet, Zhiwu Zhang; from Plant Pathology – Maren Friesen, Cynthia Gleason, Kiwamu Tanaka, “Student Research Experience in Germany to Resolve Complex Plant Traits,” NSF-IRES, $300K
• Meijun Zhu (Food Sci), “Control of Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes on peaches through spray-bar brush bed sanitizer intervention,” The Center for Produce Safety (CPS) – California Department of Food and Agriculture 2022 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program, $400K
• Jeff Manning (SOE), “Ecology and impacts of coyotes from shrub-steppe to alpine environments of the Cascade Range, Washington,” WA Fish & Wildlife – Wildlife and Sport Fish Restoration Program, $320K

A selection of notable publications is provided below with their 5-year impact factor.

• Andrus, R. A. A. (Sch Environm), Droske, C. A. A., Franz, M. C. C. (Sch Environm), Hudak, A. T. T., Lentile, L. B. B., Lewis, S. A. A., Morgan, P., Robichaud, P. R. R., & Meddens, A. J. H. (Sch Environm), (2022). Spatial and temporal drivers of post-fire tree establishment and height growth in a managed forest landscape. Fire Ecology, 18(1), 29. – Impact factor – 4.270

• Arnoldussen, B. (IAREC), Alhamid, J., Wang, P., Mo, C., Zhang, X., Zhang, Q. (BSE), & Whiting, M. (IAREC) (2022). Internal freezing and heat loss of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) and sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) reproductive buds are decreased with cellulose nanocrystal dispersions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 949537. – Impact factor 7.255
• Bengtsson, J. D. D., Wallis, J. G. G., Bai, S., & Browse, J. (IBC) (2022). The coexpression of two desaturases provides an optimized reduction of saturates in camelina oil. Plant Biotechnology Journal. – Impact factor 11.619
• Hardner, C. M., Fikere, M., Gasic, K., Linge, C. da S., Worthington, M., Byrne, D., Rawandoozi, Z., & Peace, C. (Hort) (2022). Multi-environment genomic prediction for soluble solids content in peach (Prunus persica). Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 960449. – Impact factor 7.255
• Inanoglu, S. (BSE), Barbosa-Canovas, G. (BSE), Sablani, S. S. (BSE), Zhu, M.-J. (Food Sci), Keener, L., & Tang, J. (n.d.). High-pressure pasteurization of low-acid chilled ready-to-eat food. Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety. – Impact factor 18.334
• Liu, X. (Anim Sci), Zhao, L. (Anim Sci), Gao, Y. (Anim Sci), Chen, Y. (Anim Sci), Tian, Q. (Anim Sci), Son, J. S. (Anim Sci), Chae, S. A. (Anim Sci), de Avila, J. M. (Anim Sci), Zhu, M.-J. (Food Sci), & Du, M. (Anim Sci) (2022). AMP-activated protein kinase inhibition in fibro-adipogenic progenitors impairs muscle regeneration and increases fibrosis. Journal of Cachexia Sarcopenia and Muscle. – Impact factor 12.879
• Madrid, B. (Hort), Goldberger, J. R. (CSS), Miles, C. A. (Hort), & DeVetter, L. W.(Hort) (2022). Risk and uncertainty of plastic mulch adoption in raspberry production systems. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems, 37(6), 660–671. – Impact factor 3.103
• Mahalingam, R., Duhan, N., Kaundal, R., Smertenko, A. (IBC), Nazarov, T. (IBC), & Bregitzer, P. (2022). Heat and drought induced transcriptomic changes in barley varieties with contrasting stress response phenotypes. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 1066421. – Impact factor 7.255
• Murid, M. (BSE), Khan, M. K. I. (BSE), Maan, A. A. (BSE), Asif, M. (BSE), & Sablani, S. S. (n.d.). Preferential binding effect of cocoa powder on fried donuts through the electrostatic coating method. International Journal of Food Science and Technology. – Impact factor 3.575
• Parhi, A. (BSE), Zhang, C. (BSE), Sonar, C. R. (BSE), Sankaran, S. (BSE), Rasco, B., Tang, J. (BSE), & Sablani, S. S. (BSE) (2022). Finding a carbohydrate gel-based oxygen indicator for expedited detection of defects in metal-oxide coated food packaging. Food Packaging and Shelf Life, 34, 100973. – Impact factor 4.987
• Pinheiro, J. S., Rocha, L. G., de Andrade, D. R., Rotta, P. P., Rezende, J. P., Pires, A. C. S., & Marcondes, M. I. (Anim Sci) (2022). Unveiling unstable non-acid incidence in Holstein cows fed with corn silage or sugarcane. Journal of Dairy Science, 105(11), 9226–9239. – Impact factor 4.987

• Rodman, K. C., Andrus, R. A. (Sch Environm), Carlson, A. R., Carter, T. A., Chapman, T. B., Coop, J. D., Fornwalt, P. J., Gill, N. S., Harvey, B. J., Hoffman, A. E., Kelsey, K. C., Kulakowski, D., Laughlin, D. C., Morris, J. E., Negron, J. F., Nigro, K. M., Pappas, G. S., Redmond, M. D., Rhoades, C. C., … Hart, S. J. (2022). Rocky Mountain forests are poised to recover following bark beetle outbreaks but with altered composition. Journal of Ecology, 110(12), 2929–2949. – Impact factor 7.164
• Schaeffer, R. N. (Entomology), Crowder, D. W. (Entomology), Illan, J. G. (Entomology), Beck, J. J., Fukami, T., Williams, N. M., & Vannette, R. L. (n.d.). Disease management during bloom affects the floral microbiome but not pollination in a mass-flowering crop. Journal of Applied Ecology. – Impact factor 7.822
• Tian, Q. (Food & Anim Sci), Xu, Z. (Food Sci), Sun, Q. (Food Sci), Iniguez, A. B. (Food Sci), Du, M. (Anim Sci), & Zhu, M.-J. (Food Sci) (2022). Broccoli-Derived Glucoraphanin Activates AMPK/PGC1 alpha/NRF2 Pathway and Ameliorates Dextran-Sulphate-Sodium-Induced Colitis in Mice. Antioxidants, 11(12), 2404. – Impact factor 7.886
• Una, T. (CSS), Hernandez, J., Beebe, A., & Brown, S. (2022). How does your garden grow? Impact of residuals-based amendments on urban soil health, vegetable yield and nutritional density. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 77, 127742. – Impact factor 6.463
• Volk, G. M., Peace, C. P. (Hort), Henk, A. D., & Howard, N. P. (2022). DNA profiling with the 20K apple SNP array reveals Malus domestica hybridization and admixture in M. sieversii, M. orientalis, and M. sylvestris genebank accessions. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 1015658. – Impact factor 7.255
• Wang, H., Gai, Y., Zhao, Y. (IAREC), Wang, M., & Ma, Z. (2023). The calcium-calcineurin and high-osmolarity glycerol pathways co-regulate tebuconazole sensitivity and pathogenicity in Fusarium graminearum. Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology, 190, 105311. – Impact factor 4.59
• Yang, R. (BSE), Lombardo, S. P., Conway, W. F., & Tang, J. (BSE) (2022). Inactivation of Salmonella Enteritidis PT30 on black peppercorns in thermal treatments with controlled relative humidities. Food Research International, 162, 112101. – Impact factor 6.463
• Yuan, P., Luo, F., Gleason, C. (PP), & Poovaiah, B. W. (Hort) (2022). Calcium/calmodulin-mediated microbial symbiotic interactions in plants. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 984909. – Impact factor 7.255
• Zhang, H. (Hort), Wafula, E. K., Eilers, J., Harkess, A. E., Ralph, P. E., Timilsena, P. R., dePamphilis, C. W., Waite, J. M., & Honaas, L. A. (2022). Building a foundation for gene family analysis in Rosaceae genomes with a novel workflow: A case study in Pyrus architecture genes. Frontiers in Plant Science, 13, 975942. – Impact factor 7.255

• Michael Walsh, an associate professor at the University of Western Australia, spent a week at the WSU Pullman campus this fall, discussing herbicide resistance and weed seed control with farmers in the surrounding region and giving a seminar to scientists in WSU’s Department of Crop and Soil Sciences. Walsh thinks impact mills—physical weed seed control systems that attach to combines and are widely used in Australia—could hold promise for the Pacific Northwest.
  
• Alfredo “Freddy” Reyes received an internship at Washington State University’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center (IAREC) in Prosser, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). This internship is a first-of-its-kind partnership between WSU and Heritage University. The post-baccalaureate program helps students from underserved communities gain research experiences with faculty and learn about WSU graduate degree options that support better career opportunities. Interns are encouraged to share their findings at Extension field days and present project results at industry meetings and professional conferences. Reyes is working with WSU Department of Horticulture professor and Extension specialist Matthew Whiting and assistant professor and tree fruit Extension specialist Bernardita Sallato.
  
• Nine students from private and two-year institutions in Central Washington gained firsthand experience in wine science, entomology, fruit breeding, and engineering this year at Washington State University’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center at Prosser. Completing an eight-week program in September, six interns from Columbia Basin College in Pasco, and three from private, non-profit Heritage University in Toppenish, learned about careers in science while gaining hands-on skills in orchards, vineyards, and laboratories with USDA and WSU scientists and students.
  
• As in-person county fairs roared back to life across Washington this year, volunteers and educators with Washington State University Extension helped make them successful and safe. Local Extension offices recruit volunteers to lead the different project areas showcased at fairs, from livestock and sewing to cooking, robotics, shooting sports, still-life demonstrations, and more. The Washington State Fairs Association reported that in 2021 roughly 5,600 volunteers provided more than 136,000 hours of work at Washington fairs. Their efforts were worth more than $4.5 million.

• Partnered with the Washington Wine Commission to set up events introducing new V&E Department Chair Jean Dodson Peterson to the industry. Events were held at Walla Walla (Valdemar, Waterbrook, Doubleback), Red Mountain (Bookwalter, Kiona, Ciel du Cheval), Lake Chelan (Rocky Pond, Tsillan, Cairdeas), and Woodinville (DeLille, Sparkman).
  
• Hosted Gordon Davis, donor who named the CAHNRS Deanship, on campus where he spoke with students, development staff, and campus leadership and made a commitment to support the newly reconvened Meat Judging Team.
  
• Hosted 156 individual donors and key stakeholders in the Eggert Suite over the Football Season as part of strategic Dean onboarding, donor cultivation, and stewardship efforts.
  
• Continued onboarding of Dean Wendy Powers by setting up meetings and introductions with crucial donors and stakeholders such as Dan Bernardo, Sue & Ken Christianson, Gary Schneidmiller, Mike & Kathy Hambelton, Northwest Farm Credit Services, David and Melanie Lange, Drs. Joe and Val Hillers, Orlin Reinbold, Terry & Faye Whitworth, Washington Bulb, Washington Red Raspberry Commission, Washington Wine Commission, Tree Fruit Commission, and Potato Commission.
  
• Hired a new development coordinator: Ashley Gardipe
  
• Major Gifts from Q4:
  • $100k from Boeing Company to the Washington Stormwater Center Development Fund
  • $300k pledge/100k outright gift from Dr. Norman Scott to establish the first Professorship in Biological Systems Engineering
  • $450,000 from Jonathan and Kathleen Altman Foundation to the Jonathan and Kathleen Altman Foundation Honeybee and Mycelium Fund