Three longtime Washington State University plant pathologists are retiring.

The university celebrated Gary Chastagner, Gary Grove and Tim Murray with a joint retirement reception Dec. 11 in Pullman, Wash.

“Together they represent (about) 126 years of research and Extension efforts that have had tremendous benefits to tens of thousands of stakeholders regionally, nationally, and internationally,” Lindsey du Toit, chair of WSU’s department of plant pathology and an extension plant pathologist in Mount Vernon, told the Capital Press. “They have trained hundreds of graduate students, post-doctorates and interns, and contributed to teaching courses in plant pathology to thousands of students over the years. Their contributions have been invaluable.”

“Each has an incredible legacy of research and impact across the state — from the nursery industry, to tree fruit and cereals,” said Rich Koenig, WSU soil science professor and former chair of the department of crop and soil science. “Big shoes to fill.”

“It seems the days of faculty spending a 40-year career at one institution and focused wholly on the needs of stakeholders is becoming a rarer thing,” he added. “We are losing over a century of institutional knowledge and understanding of the challenges and research needs of these industries.”

Du Toit called the trio’s retirements “bittersweet,” celebrating their accomplishments, but also facing the difficulty of the loss of “so much invaluable expertise” over less than a four-month period.

“Compounding this is the fact that, with ongoing budget cuts (that) WSU faces, we do not yet know when university administrators will grant approval to refill these important positions,” she said.

Murray holds the Rosalie and Harold Rea Brown Distinguished Endowed Chair position, and a fundraising effort for the Gary Chastagner Endowment was initiated recently, which du Toit hopes will lead to WSU administrators refilling both positions soon. The tree fruit industry is highly supportive of refilling Grove’s position, she added.

Gary Chastagner

Chastagner has been professor of plant pathology in Puyallup since 1978, leading an applied research program to help Christmas tree farmers solve disease and post-harvest problems, and other ornamental bulb crops and nursery work.
“We’ve been able to help growers solve some of their disease problems and answer a lot of questions as it relates to the production of high-quality Christmas trees,” Chastagner said.

He’s been called everything from “Scientific Santa Claus” to “Doctor Christmas Tree.”

His official retirement date is in April. He plans to remain as a WSU professor emeritus.

“If we’re still in the area and don’t move, I’ll probably still have some pet projects I work on,” Chastagner said.

His wife retired, too, and they want to travel more and visit grandkids in Arizona and Michigan.

The Northwest leads the nation in Christmas tree production, Chastagner said.

It’s largely a non-irrigated crop. Historically, there was enough seasonal rain or precipitation that the trees did well through the summer.

“That’s changed quite dramatically here in the last five to 10 years, with a lot warmer and drier summers,” he said. “The growers are experiencing a lot of issues relating to seedling survival and more recently, direct damage to even large, harvestable-size trees from sunburn and increased root diseases. … So there’s a lot of research needs that need to be addressed.”

The Christmas tree, nursery and landscaping industries are working together to establish a WSU endowment to support and continue disease research, to increase the likelihood that the position is refilled, Chastagner said.

Gary Grove

Grove has focused on pests and diseases in stone fruit and grapes, based at WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture and Research Extension Center in Prosser, also with an office at the university’s wine science center in Richland.

“When I first started, we didn’t know very much about powdery mildew of cherry,” he said. “We were able to figure out the life cycle and then some about that disease.”

His team also evaluated fungicides, and got them into growers’ hands.

“When I got here in 1986, we only had one,” he said. “So we have a lot more choices now.”

The Northwest’s arid climate means growers don’t have to contend with a lot of apple diseases compared to those in the east, he said.

“We have a perfect climate for fruit, so we’ve got a lot going for us — we’re in rough water right now, but we’ve been in rough water before, and we always seem to come out of it stronger,” he said. “My message to them is persevere; we’ll get through the cloudy time.”

Grove has also enjoyed teaching the last six years, and directing AgWeatherNet from 2006 to 2010.

He has decided to retire while he is still in good health.

“I figure 38 years in the same job, you can’t call me a quitter,” he said.

His hobbies are scuba diving and photography. He plans to take several foreign trips a year, including a bucket list trip to the South Pacific and Indian Ocean in 2025. He also plays stringed instruments.

Grove’s final day is Dec. 31. He will also be an emeritus professor.

“I plan to do some things that have been piled on my desk for years, but I’m one of those types that once I’m retired, I’m probably going to be pretty retired,” he said.

If any industry members do have questions while the position is vacant, they could email Grove.

“It might take a little bit longer to get a reply,” he said.

Tim Murray

Tim Murray has been on WSU’s faculty for nearly 42 years, based in Pullman. He began as a graduate student in 1978.

His main emphasis has been addressing wheat diseases.

For example, when he started working in 1983, strawbreaker foot rot, or eyespot, was the biggest problem.

“We were spraying up to 1 million acres a year with fungicide to control that disease, and at the time it was pretty expensive, in the $18 to $25 an acre range, when wheat was selling for $3 a bushel,” Murray said. “Now, I would be surprised if it was 50,000 acres.

“There’s a lot of things that we’ve done over the years that I feel were useful to the wheat industry, but also science,” he continued. “It wasn’t just me, but it was us working together to solve this big, important problem.”

He taught 1,500 or so students over 30 years.

“One of the most satisfying things is, I was at one of our variety plot tours and had a grower come up to me who had taken my class early in my career,” Murray said. “I’ve had that happen over the years a few times. … It’s really gratifying when you’re able to reconnect years later, they remember your class and it was of some benefit to them.”

He also had about 40 graduate students, he estimated.

“It’s kind of like a parent watching your kids grow up, when you see them mature and become professionals in their field,” he said.

Murray officially retires in February.

“I like what I do, but I also am at a point where I just want more time to do the things that I want to do,” he said. “I want to spend more time with my camera, my golf clubs and my fly rod.”

For the last 12 years, he’s had a research and extension appointment.

“We’re always going to need education,” Murray said. “There’s always a need for the information we’re putting out. … Growers have a lot of things to juggle when they’re thinking about their crop — diseases and weeds, all kinds of other things. Things change over time, too. We’re seeing slightly different disease profiles that are important.”

When he began, stripe rust was present, but wasn’t necessarily an “every year problem.”

“Over time, our winters have become shorter and more mild, they allow the stripe rust fungus to survive better — and now, we’re thinking about stripe rust most years,” he said. “We’ve seen a few other diseases out there that could be emerging, depending on what happens with the weather going forward.”