Ruijun Qin
Assistant Professor Oregon State University (HAREC)
Department of Crop & Soil Science
Ph.D. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich
M.S. Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences Beijing
Dr. Ruijun Qin is an Extension Agronomist at Oregon State University (OSU) ‒ Hermiston Agricultural Research & Extension Center and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Crop and Soil Science at OSU. His extension and research activities focus on sustainable soil/plant nutrient & water management, crop production (potatoes, cereals, dry beans, alfalfa, grass seeds, peppermint, etc.), cropping system, wastewater reuse, environmental quality, and soil health. From 2006 to 2016, he was employed at the San Joaquin Agricultural Research Center of the USDA-ARS and the University of California - Davis, and his research was mainly focused on soil fumigation, high-value crop production, plastic mulching, and water management. Dr. Qin received his Ph.D. in Agronomy (2003) at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH-Zurich, Institute of Agricultural Sciences). His research topics included root exudation under heavy metal stress, root morphology and distribution in relation to crop production and crop nutrition, tillage systems and crop rotation in the temperate region. He received his MS in Soil Science at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (1995) and successfully carried out projects concerning soil aluminum toxicity, the use of soil organic amendments, and productivity of cropping system in the subtropical zone. Dr. Qin is an Associate Editor of Agronomy Journal and the Chair of Nutrient Management Professionals Community of the American Society of Agronomy (ASA) with approximately 1,300 members. He had been a member of the Agronomic Industry Award Committee and Environmental Quality Research Award Committee. He has published over 60 peer-reviewed research articles and acted as a reviewer for more than 20 peer reviewed Scientific Journals.
Kenneth Frost
Ken Frost is an Associate Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology and located at the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Hermiston, Oregon. His research focuses on the ecology, epidemiology, and management of pathogens that cause diseases of irrigated vegetable crops. The primary goal of his research program is to develop practical and economically and environmentally compatible disease management strategies to minimize disease outbreaks and enhance the efficiency of vegetable crop production in Oregon. The research he conducts seeks to learn how variability in the environment affects pathogen growth, survival, and dispersal and influences disease intensity and pattern. Some of his recent studies have examined how different crop management practices change the soil microbiome and are associated with varying disease and yield outcomes. He is also interested to learn how pathogens and other members of the microbial community present in tare soils influence microbial community establishment on potato roots and plant health. He received his M.S. and Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
Jeremiah Dung
Dr. Jeremiah Dung is an Associate Professor at Oregon State University in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology and Interim Director at the Central Oregon Agricultural Research and Extension Center (COAREC) in Madras, OR. Before arriving at COAREC, Dr. Dung earned his M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Plant Pathology at Washington State University and was a postdoctoral scholar at the OSU Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center. Dr. Dung’s current research focuses on the epidemiology, population biology, and integrated disease management of plant diseases affecting seed and specialty crops in central Oregon.
Cynthia Ocamb
Dr. Cynthia M. Ocamb is an Extension plant pathology specialist and Associate Professor in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University in Corvallis. She obtained her B.S. cum laude in Horticultural Sciences and a M.S. in Plant Pathology at North Carolina State University along with a Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from the University of Minnesota-St. Paul. She provides statewide leadership on the diagnosis and management of diseases affecting field and vegetable crops, including hemp. Her overall efforts have included root and crown diseases in specialty crops with a focus on Fusarium diseases as well as management of seedborne and soilborne pathogens. Current areas of collaborative investigations include Fusarium canker of hop, powdery mildews and other diseases in hemp, and black leg of crucifers. She also provides training on the biology and management of plant diseases for county faculty, private consultants, and producers as well as being a co-editor of the Pacific Northwest Plant Disease Management Handbook. As Oregon State University is committed to maintaining and enhancing a collaborative and inclusive community that strives for equity and equal opportunity, she ensures that all people have equal program participation opportunities.
Hannah Rivedal
Dr. Hannah Rivedal is a Research Plant Pathologist in the USDA-ARS Forage Seed and Cereal Research Unit in Corvallis, Oregon. She received her bachelor’s in Plant Pathology from the University of Wisconsin in 2013 and her Ph.D. in Plant Pathology from Oregon State University in 2019. Dr. Rivedal has over 10 years of plant pathology research experience in specialty crops, including 2 years as a plant disease diagnostician at HAREC. Her current research program is dedicated to understanding the biology, epidemiology, and impact of pathogens on crop and seed health within seed crop production systems, with a focus on turf, forage grasses and legumes grown for seed and hemp.
Vidyasagar (Sagar) Sathuvalli
Associate Professor, Potato Breeding
Ph.D. - 2010 - Oregon State University
M.S. - 2007 - Oregon State University
B.S. - 2002 - Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU), INDIA
My research focuses on Potato Breeding and Germplasm Improvement using traditional, molecular, and genomic tools. My program will aim at developing new potato cultivars with increased biotic and abiotic stress tolerance, nutrient efficiency and processing quality. Major: Horticulture (Plant Breeding and Genetics) Minor: Molecular and Cellular Biology; Major: Horticulture (Plant Breeding and Genetics) Minor: Botany and Plant Pathology; Project: Shoot tip culture in Banana for virus free plantlets
Carrie Wohleb
Carrie H. Wohleb is a Professor and Potato, Vegetable and Seed Crops Specialist with Washington State University Extension in Moses Lake. Her programs are aimed at improving the profitability of irrigated agriculture in the Columbia Basin region of Washington State. Carrie's main areas of interest are : (1) investigating and diagnosing problems in the field, (2) pest monitoring and integrated pest management, and (3) developing decision support tools and educational materials for potato, vegetable, and seed producers. She publishes a weekly e-newsletter "WSU Potato Alerts" during the growing season and writes a quarterly "Potato Pointers" column for the American Vegetable Grower magazine. Carrie earned a B.S. degree in botany from the University of Washington, and M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in horticulture (potato physiology and agronomy) from Washington State University. She worked as an agronomist on a potato farm for 8 years before taking her current position at Washington State University in 2008.
Amanda Woodlee
As Master Gardener Program Coordinator for the OSU Extension in Hermiston, Oregon, Amanda Woodlee oversees education and training for the Master Gardener volunteers in Umatilla and Morrow counties. She graduated from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and has an especial interest in sustainability, soil health, and composting.
Hermiston Farm Fair 2023
