December 2021 - 19

Award cites work of WSU-OSU Little Cherry team
By Washington State University
Helping Northwest cherry growers
stop the spread of a damaging
disease, a team of scientists and
Extension specialists from Washington
State University and Oregon State
University have earned recognition
from the Western Extension Directors
Association (WEDA).
The joint WSU-OSU Little Cherry
Disease Extension Team were recognized
this summer with WEDA's 2021 Award
of Excellence.
Named for its unpalatable symptoms -
small, insipid, colorless fruit - little cherry
disease encompasses several pathogens
that infect sweet cherries and other stone
fruit trees. Once infected, there is no
remedy other than speedy removal of sick
trees to slow transmission.
The complex of diseases ravaged
Washington cherry orchards in the
1940s and '50s. Reports of little cherry
began rising in 2017, and today it is
again a significant concern for Northwest
orchards.
Scientists and specialists from both
universities have been working over
the last several years to inform cherry
growers how to identify, manage, and
halt the spread of the pathogens.
" My colleagues on the WSU-OSU
Little Cherry Disease Extension Team
Cherry trees infected with little cherry disease bear small, bitter or bland fruits that often lack attractive coloring. Photo: Washington
State University
responded when orchardists faced
an unprecedented challenge, " said
team member and WSU Regional
Extension Specialist Tianna DuPont.
" They deserve this award for working
so hard to provide solutions and
research-based information, bridging
a huge gap in knowledge about how
to manage X-disease and little cherry
disease. It has been such a pleasure to
work with this group, and I know the
industry really appreciates their efforts. "
The team shared a brief overview of
their work at the association's awards
presentation in June.
A professional association for
leadership of land-grant institutions in
the western U.S. and Pacific islands and
territories, WEDA supports Extension
programs, collaboration, mentorship
and helps create a voice for western
issues and challenges.
Learn more about WEDA on the
organization's home page, www.weda.
extension.oregonstate.edu.
Along with DuPont, team members
include WSU Regional Extension
Specialists Bernardita Sallato,
Karen Lewis, and Gwen Hoheisel;
Information Technology Transfer
specialists Jenny Bolivar and Cody
Molnar; Tobin Northfield, WSU
Assistant Professor of Entomology;
Scott Harper, WSU Assistant Professor
of Plant Pathology and Clean Plant
Center Director; Louis Nottingham,
WSU Research Assistant Professor,
Entomology; Ricardo Naranjo, WSU
Extension assistant; and Ashley
Thompson, Oregon State University
Tree Fruit Extension, Wasco and Hood
River Counties.
Learn more about WSU's work on
Little Cherry Disease at www.treefruit.
wsu.edu. FGN
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FGN | DECEMBER 2021 | 19

http://www.weda http://extension.oregonstate.edu http://www.treefruit http://www.wsu.edu http://www.oescoinc.com

December 2021

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