Seed, cereal crop meetings feature slug researcher
In 2009, Pennsylvania State University entomologist John Tooker said he “naively waded into the slug world” after slug problems were the topic of 50 percent of his extension calls that year.
Today Tooker is one of the few U.S. researchers actively engaged in slug research.
Tooker will be a featured speaker at the Oregon State University seed crop and cereal production meetings in September.
Tooker also will speak at a seminar on the OSU campus, scheduled from 3 to 4 p.m. on Sept. 9 in room 4000 of the Agriculture and Life Sciences Building.
Sujayo Rao, field crop entomologist at Oregon State University, said that while Mid-Atlantic cropping patterns are different from Oregon’s, she believes Tooker can provide Oregon growers valuable insight on a problem that has beset them in recent years.
An industry study recently calculated the economic impact of slugs on Oregon grass seed crops at just under $100 million annually, or about 20 percent of the crops’ farm gate value.
“Clearly slugs are a big issue, and John Tooker is one of the few researchers nationwide who is doing research on slugs,” Rao said. “This seemed like a good opportunity to bring him to Oregon.”
In a Penn State University Department of Entomology research report, Tooker noted that a 2010 survey of Mid-Atlantic corn and soybean growers, showed that 82 percent of respondents identified slugs as their most challenging pest.
The report also included findings that cover crops, including cereal rye and clovers, helped limit slug damage by providing alternative feed sources for slugs. And it included information that minimal tillage — even light discing in the spring — helped reduce slug pressure.
Research in Oregon also has shown that tillage — even biennial tillage — provided significant benefits in slug control over continuous no till.
“Dr. Tooker’s visit provides an opportunity for us to learn about his slug management successes and challenges, while enlightening him about our challenges,” Rao said. “His awareness about our situation has potential for benefiting us at many levels.”
In addition to Tooker’s presentations, OSU Extension plant pathologist specialist Cindy Ocamb will provide presentations on the impacts of barley yellow dwarf virus in perennial ryegrass and tall fescue. OSU Extension weeds specialist Andy Hulting will look at Italian ryegrass, roughstalk bluegrass and annual bluegrass in wheat and seed crops. And OSU Extension cereals specialist Mike Flowers will provide a look at winter wheat varieties, grain protein, and diseases growers faced in 2015. Flowers also will provide information on seeding rate data.
Two meetings are scheduled on Sept. 10: One from 8:30 a.m. to noon at the Elks Lodge in Forest Grove, 2810 Pacific Ave.; and a second from 1:30 to 5 p.m. at Roth’s Hospitality Center in West Salem, 1130 Wallace Road.
The final meeting is scheduled on Sept. 11 from 8 to 11:30 a.m. at the Linn County Fair and Expo Center, 3700 Knox Butte Road, Albany.