OSU to recruit slug researcher, other experts
Farmers in Oregon will soon get some much-needed assistance with battling the slugs that are devouring their crops.
Oregon State University plans to recruit an entomologist who specializes in slug research as part of a broader hiring spree made possible with added money from state lawmakers.
Earlier this year, the university held a “Slug Summit” with farmers who complained that the pests have grown more problematic in recent years.
Theories abound as to why slugs are more prevalent — increased restrictions on field burning and reduced tillage were among the reasons proposed — but concrete proof is scant.
Methods of controlling the mollusks, such as bait containing the pesticide metaldehyde, aren’t reliably effective, growers reported.
The new research position will focus on the best ways to kill slugs or otherwise disrupt their life cycle, said Dan Arp, dean of OSU’s College of Agricultural Sciences.
The Oregon legislature recently approved $14 million in additional funding for OSU’s agricultural experiment stations, extension service and forest laboratory over the next two years.
Agricultural experiment stations will receive more than $6 million of that amount, which will fund 16 new assistant professor positions and six support positions, said Arp.
OSU will begin trying to fill the positions as soon as possible, but the recruiting process usually takes about eight months, he said.
“We’re really grateful to the legislature for making this possible,” Arp said.
Following is a summary of the other research positions that OSU’s agricultural experiment stations will be looking to fill:
• Rangeland ecology with a focus on conserving the sage grouse, a bird species that’s a candidate for federal protection. Ranchers fear that threatened or endangered status for the species could result in grazing restrictions.
• Integrated management of cropping systems, focusing on managing nutrients, water and pests for crops with intensive rotations.
• Weed and pest management primarily for horticultural crops like vegetables and berries.
• Water management and efficient use, such as examining innovative tools for irrigation.
• Fertilizer rate and transport, which involves the study of how much fertilizer is consumed by crops and where surpluses end up.
• Near-shore fishery and oceanography, looking at sustainable practices.
• Food processing and safety, researching new technology and food safety concepts such as improving shelf life.
• Food microbiology, studying ways to prevent contamination with pathogens.
• Pesticide management, including the best management of rates and timing.
• Integrated pest management response to climate and weather, with a focus on modeling how changes will affect pest control.
• Consumer demands and marketing, which involves the study of how people make buying decisions and how to influence them. The main focus will be on products of fermentation like alcohol and cheese.
• Brewing microbiology, which will examine how to use microbiology to improve flavor.
• Quantitative plant genetics, which requires the use of modern molecular tools to improve breeding.
• Vegetable and specialty seed breeding and management.
• Seafood processing and innovation, which will include new methods and safety components.
• Two pollinator biology technicians, one focused on lab work and the other on field work.
• An experiential learning coordinator who lines up internships for students.
• Supplemental funding for three positions in fermentation science.
OSU’s Forest Research Laboratory will receive $3.5 million of the additional funding, which will be spent on a two-year study of the marbled murrelet, a threatened bird species that nests in coastal forests.
The birds will be banded with radio transmitters so researchers can find out more about where they travel and how far inland they lay eggs.
“We really don’t understand much about their behavior. They spend most of their lives out at sea,” said Thomas Maness, the laboratory’s director.
OSU’s extension service will receive nearly $4.5 million of the added funding but is still in the process of prioritizing which positions will be filled, said Scott Reed, the service’s director at the university.