In 1973, a USDA research laboratory, designed to foster collaboration between federal scientists and Pacific Northwest universities, opened at Oregon State University.

The USDA Agricultural Research Service Horticultural Crops Research Units in Corvallis, Ore., celebrated their 50th anniversary with an open house on Nov. 13.

The event showcased promising new advancements and featured familiar faces for scientists.

“I’m the one who started this whole mess,” said Bob Linderman, a plant pathologist who was the facility’s first research leader.

Linderman began with four scientific groups.

Today, the facility’s 14 labs have 105 workers, said Walt Mahaffee, acting research leader for the Horticultural Crops Disease and Pest Management Research Unit. The facility’s organizational structure was split in two in 2022 and also includes the Horticultural Crops Production and Genetic Improvement Research Unit, led by Jungmin Lee.

Overall, the Horticultural Crops Research Units in Corvallis have a budget of roughly $12 million, said Inga Zasada, former research leader.

Researchers, including scientists stationed in Mount Vernon, Wash. and Prosser, Wash., are focused on helping nurseries, berry growers and vintners throughout the Pacific Northwest with the many issues they can experience.

Problems facing those industries, such as pests and molds, can overlap, said Joyce Loper, former research leader.

She added that the facility had developed the major cultivars grown by the berry industry today.

The Horticultural Crops Research Units at OSU also include the Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research. The organization’s annual conference started Nov. 13, as well.

Among the highlights of the open house tour:

• Michael Hardigan, research geneticist, said scientists are starting to genetically map important traits for berries. Cultivating firmness in blackberries and disease resistance in raspberries are top priorities.

• Scott Orr, biological science technician, discussed the use of drones with cameras equipped with thermal imaging and multispectral lenses, and how those can monitor for plant health, irrigation leaks or other issues.

“The cool thing about this technology is it’s becoming a lot cheaper,” Orr added.

• Virginia Stockwell, research plant pathologist, talked about a new grant to work on cranberry fruit rot, which impacts 5% of berries collected before harvest in a good season.

• Jana Lee, research entomologist, discussed using parasitic wasps to combat spotted wing drosophila, a fruit fly that attacks berries and other crops.

“We’re trying to raise the natural enemy populations,” she said.

• Hannah Baker, lab technician, highlighted how pest nematodes are virus vectors for a variety of plants, including wine grapes. She added that researchers are working on non-chemical methods of pest control, including electrocuting harmful worms in the soil.

• Alex Wong, a postdoctoral student, talked about using an over-the-row ultraviolet light machine to combat grape powdery mildew.

The equipment works but isn’t cost effective, so scientists are looking into using autonomous robotics to cut down on labor and fuel, he added.

• Jerry Weiland, research plant pathologist, discussed problems facing the nursery industry such as root rot, which hammers rhododendrons, and boxwood blight. Oregon is the top producer of both rhodies and boxwoods.

The Horticultural Crops Research Units were initially focused on nurseries — currently the No. 1 agricultural commodity in Oregon — and the facility was named the Ornamental Plants Research Laboratory.

It was the first USDA Agricultural Research Service presence at Oregon State University.

The Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit also is on campus and the National Clonal Germplasm Repository is near Corvallis.