2013 ASHS Annual Conference

Umatilla County is the breadbasket of Oregon generating the most revenue from specialty crops and commodity agriculture out of all the counties in Oregon. The fruit industries of the Walla Walla Valley in northern Umatilla County generate more than $85 million per year. Codling moth, apple maggot, and cherry fruit fly are major quarantine obstacles to national and international exports. In 2004, the “third strike” for codling moth in Taiwan came from fruit produced in the Milton–Freewater area. This shut down the entire United States apple market prematurely and cost the Pacific Northwest more than $26 million in lost revenue in the form of foreign exchange. Extension programs in the Walla Walla Valley have aimed at monitoring for key pests while preventing the introduction of new ones. Daily reporting of pest counts together with interactive real time mapping of the traps with current and historical counts have proven to be invaluable tools for helping growers eliminate and reduce “hotspots” in the Valley. Control programs have focused on best management practices, using softer chemistries and collaborating with other non-profit agencies to reduce toxic levels in the rivers and streams. Indeed, maximum in-stream concentrations of an insecticide of concern for water quality have been reduced by over 90% from 2006.  Similar significant reductions in stream concentrations of an herbicide used in orchard areas were observed in 2012 as a result of recent collaborative efforts in the Valley. In addition, total insecticide applications have been reduced from 10,045 kg in 2007 to 2,745 kg in 2010 and are being maintained at these low levels.