3 Questions With New Chief of Northwest Center for Clean Plants

Ken Eastwell, a professor in the Washington State University Department of Plant Pathology based at WSU’s Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Prosser, has been appointed director of the Clean Plant Center of the Northwest. As director of CPCNW, Eastwell provides leadership for the development and distribution of deciduous fruit trees, grapevines and hops that are free of viruses and virus-like agents. GrowingProduce.com recently caught up with Eastwell, and asked the following 3 questions.

 

1) What exactly does the Clean Plant Center of the Northwest do?

The National Clean Plant Network (NCPN) was created to protect U.S. perennial specialty crops such as grapes, nuts, fruit trees, citrus and berries from the spread of economically harmful plant pests and diseases. The Clean Plant Center – NW is one of 15 centers around the U.S. that functions within this umbrella organization and we specifically serve the fruit tree, grapevine and hop industries. We obtain propagation material and test it to insure that it is free of targeted plant pathogens. If a plant pathogen is detected, the material is then subjected to virus elimination therapy. Once pathogen-free material is available, it is distributed to growers, nurseries and researchers around the U.S. and the world.

 

2) How does it benefit commercial fruit growers?

Generally, viruses degrade the quality and quantity of production of specialty crop plants. This is particularly critical for perennial crops because the reduction in quality fruit or hop production occurs year after year, throughout the life time of planting. Even a small reduction in return on yield can have a devastating effect on the economic outlook of the growing operation. Because these plants are perennial, they run the risk of accumulating viruses over many years. If that tree is then propagated, all of the viruses will then be in the young trees as well. The fruit tree program is unique in that this program is the major route by which new fruit tree varieties enter the U.S. from foreign breeding programs. This includes the apple varieties Fuji and Gala that are now grown in the U.S. from trees that went through our program.

 

3) What can growers do to try and ensure that the industry remains as free of viruses and diseases as possible?

The most critical step to helping keep the industry healthy is to be aware of and to respect quarantine regulations against regulated diseases. Once the plants leave the Clean Plant Center – NW, they are typically propagated to produce much larger numbers. This is done by commercial nurseries and growers. Many states have certification programs that insure that this process of increasing the number of available plants minimizes the risk of introducing serious diseases. Therefore, growers should always ask about whether the material is certified and insist on certified material wherever possible. To be confident that growers can get certified material, it is always best to plan ahead. The extra investment now will pay dividends for years.