HERMISTON, Ore. — In the movie “Forest Gump,” the character Bubba rattled off a detailed conjugation of the many ways to serve shrimp. The earth-bound potato is equally versatile, and it’s a crop that enjoys high status despite its humble origins.

One important indicator of its nearly royal status: the scientific study is thorough.

Hence the Potato Field Day each year at the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center, and it’s a two-way conversation.

“I think we learn more from the people who are coming than they learn from the information we provide you guys,” HAREC Director Carlos Bonilla said. “We get a lot of feedback from all of you. They spend the entire morning with you guys talking about their needs.”

Bonilla said the information potato farmers provide to the scientists at the center leads to “research, getting some grants and working on those ideas for the future.”

The June 26 field day was a four-hour presentation of nine potato studies, ranging from “Introduction to climate-smart practices for potatoes in the Pacific Northwest,” to “Evaluating Irrigation and Nitrogen Application to Improve Resource Use Efficiency and Reduce Nitrate Losses in Potato Fields.”

OSU researchers Tajamul Hussain, Ray Qin and Haoyang Lyu began that latter study with, “Nitrate pollution in groundwater systems in Columbia Basin is often reported and strategies of improving potato production along with tackling nitrate leaching.” 

The scientists will experiment with irrigation ideas, some novel, to reduce the transfer of nitrates into groundwater.

Green dazzles

There are any number of test plots flourishing in the June sunshine for visitors to see up close and personal at the field day.

“The difference of having a field day like this compared to a seminar in a classroom is that we can talk face-to-face with the people and get their feedback, get in touch, and know exactly what are their concerns,” Bonilla said. “It seems helpful that people can come out and see all this with their own eyes rather than seeing a picture. Actually, this has been done for 100 years. We are human beings and we like to see and touch things.”

Operations coordinator Tim Weinke has been with the center 25 years, and the field day predates him.

“Every year there are always new issues that come up with crops as the years go,” he said. “Variety is always changing. So that topic is different every year. Diseases come and go, insects come and go, and ways to manage them change.”

Another of the papers presented to the audience of about 65 attendees was “Impacts of root-knot nematodes on potato yield and quality in the Pacific Northwest.”

Those tiny worms can either help or hurt crops, and in this case, they are not friendly.

The field day also looked at a fungus responsible for potato dry rot in the field and in storage. There were several other insect and disease threats examined.

Trials form rainbow

Researcher Sagar Sathuvalli arranged baskets of nine varieties of potatoes as a kind of tuber rainbow, with colors ranging from the traditional yellow, to brown, to red and purple. All these early trials have different strengths and weaknesses.

Nima Samadi is a potato breeder. He said his biggest challenge is the narrow genetic base of the cultivated potato.

“We can look into the wild potato species to find better genes for resistance,” he said. “So the main problem is just the narrow genetic base of it.”

Boardman potato farmer Nick Benavides said he has been bothered by an increase in potato beetles the last couple years. He likes to come to the field day “because you get to see something on a small scale, and then we can implement it on a bigger scale.”

“It’s really interesting to see all the different projects going on at the station,” Oregon State junior Maria Alvarez-Barroso said.

She said she wants a career, as a scientist or researcher like the people at the field day.

Bonilla said young people need to know where the food they eat comes from and how hard it is to produce, because some people think things like this are free.

“This is a job,” Bonilla said. “It is not for fun. These guys are investing everything every season to produce.”