First Report of Gnomoniopsis idaeicola Causing Cane Wilt and Canker in Commercial Blackberry Fields in Oregon

Oregon is the leading producer of blackberries in the United States (USDA 2021). In November 2020, we visited a seven-year-old, 5.6 HA field of thornless trailing cultivar ‘Columbia Star’ in Marion County, Oregon in response to grower reports of rapid plant death that they called ‘Blackberry Collapse.’ The pattern of disease in the field was semi-circular patches of dead plants. We estimate that ca. 17% of the plants were killed. Symptoms included fewer and stunted primocanes, floricane reddening, premature floricane senescence, or elliptical or irregular brown to purple cane lesions often near the base of necrotic petioles clasping the cane. Twenty-two cane lesions were collected, surface-disinfested, and placed on potato dextrose agar with streptomycin. In addition to common Rubus cane pathogens (Kalmusia coniothyrium, Botrytis spp., Diaporthe spp., and Seimatosporium lichenicola), Gnomoniopsis idaeicola was isolated from 23% of the samples. After isolation of G. idaeicola from ‘Columbia Star’, we also isolated the pathogen from symptomatic ‘Black Diamond’ blackberry in fields in Washington and Linn Counties in Oregon. G. idaeicola grew as white- to cream-colored circular colonies on the agar surface with sparse to dense aerial hyphae. Some isolates produced cream-colored exudate from irregular conidiomata. Conidia were single-celled, hyaline, oval to ellipsoid, and ranged from 4.9 to 6.9 µm long and 1.2 to 2.5 µm wide (n = 100). Perithecia and ascospores were not seen on canes or in culture; molecular methods were used to identify the fungus. Genomic DNA was extracted from nine isolates and β-tubulin, ITS region, and tef-1α were amplified using the primers and conditions described by Walker et al. (2010). Amplicons were Sanger sequenced in both directions by the Core Facilities of the Center for Quantitative Life Sciences of Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR. Sequences were deposited in GenBank (β-tubulin OK539758-OK539766; ITS OK348854-OK348862; tef-1α OK539767-OK539775). β-tubulin sequences (737 bp) were 100% identical to sequence of G. idaeicola from Rubus procerus, Oregon (GU320783). ITS sequences (518 bp) were 99.2 to 100% identical to G. idaeicola CBS125674T (GU320796). tef-1α sequences (860 bp) were 99.9 to 100% identical with reference sequences of G. idaeicola. Phylogenetic analyses of concatenated sequences using Tamura-Nei neighbor-joining (Tamura et al. 2004) confirmed identity. Pathogenicity of G. idaeicola isolates was tested in repeated experiments on four to five detached ‘Black Diamond’ primocanes and potted ‘Columbia Star’ plants with 4 mm hyphal plugs placed on fresh wounds and wrapped in parafilm; controls were treated with sterile agar plugs (Ellis et al. 1984; Stevanović et al. 2019). By 14 days, in each experiment, expanding necrotic lesions were observed on canes inoculated with G. idaeicola, but not with sterile agar plugs. ITS-sequence of fungi isolated from lesions confirmed identity as G. idaeicola, fulfilling Koch’s postulate. G. idaeicola was described as a new species by Walker et al. (2010) from perithecia collected from wild Rubus spp. in the Pacific Northwest. Despite its presence on native Rubus, G. idaeicola has not been reported in commercial blackberry fields in OR. Stevanović et al. (2019) identified G. idaeicola as an important pathogen causing canker, wilt, and death of blackberry in Serbia. Surveys of Oregon blackberry fields for G. idaeicola are ongoing, along with research on the epidemiology and management of this emerging pathogen.

An Objective Method with a Continuity Constraint for Improving Surface Velocity Estimates from the Geostationary Ocean Color Imager

Mapping surface currents with high spatiotemporal resolution over a wide coverage is crucial for understanding ocean dynamics and associated biogeochemical processes. The most widely used algorithm for estimating surface velocities from sequential satellite observations is the maximum cross-correlation (MCC) method. However, many unrealistic vectors still exist, despite the utilization of various filtering techniques. In this study, an objective method has been developed through the combination of MCC and multivariate optimum interpolation (MOI) analysis under a continuity constraint. The MCC method, with and without MOI, is applied to sequences of simulated sea surface temperature (SST) fields with a 1/48° spatial resolution over the East China Sea continental shelf. Integration of MOI into MCC reduces the average absolute differences between the model’s ‘actual’ velocity and the SST-derived velocity by 19% in relative magnitude and 22% in direction, respectively. Application of the proposed method to Geostationary Ocean Color Imager (GOCI) satellite observations produces good agreement between derived surface velocities and the Oregon State University (OSU) regional tidal model outputs. Our results demonstrate that the incorporation of MOI into MCC can provide a significant improvement in the reliability and accuracy of satellite-derived velocity fields.

Automatic Tsunami Barrier

The Anti-Tsunami Laboratory (ATL) invented and developed the Anti-Tsunami Door (ATD) barrier as an automatic tsunami barrier. In September 2018, ATL and Kyoto University tested a mid-scale model of a three-stage ATD unit and confirmed its performance: (1) functioning automatically (refer to Figure 9); (2) achieving reasonable wave height reduction, which is approximately 40%–80% that of a solid barrier of the same height; and (3) demonstrating reasonable strength for a wooden structure under the mid-scale model test conditions. ATL had planned to test a large-scale model of an ATD unit in Oregon State University in May 2020, but that test has been delayed owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Because the wave pressure on the ATD unit is expected to be high during the large-scale model test, ATL requested that the Explosion Research Institute (ERI) simulate the wave pressure on a large-scale model ATD unit, and based on the results, ATL will reinforce the ATD unit. After testing the large-scale model unit, ATL will install ATD barriers along the coast of Japan, customizing the barrier for specific tsunami hazards.

Characterization of Podosphaera macularis Derived from the Hop Cultivar ‘Strata’ and Strata’s Resistance to Powdery Mildew in Oregon

Powdery mildew is one of the most destructive diseases of hop. Host resistance is a most efficient means of managing the disease, but resistance may not be durable. The cultivar Strata was developed by Oregon State University, and the patent application stated the plant was resistant to powdery mildew based on initial greenhouse screening and 8 years of observations at three locations in western Oregon. In 2019, powdery mildew colonies were reported in a commercial yard of Strata near Woodburn, Oregon. Two clonal isolates of Podosphaera macularis were isolated via single-chain transfers from colonies and characterized by inoculating each of seven differential cultivars. Cultivars with Rb, R3, and R5 were susceptible to the isolates. The susceptibility of Strata to powdery mildew was characterized by inoculating seven isolates of P. macularis with known virulences onto leaves of Strata. Sporulation appeared on Strata leaves with all of the differential isolates independent of their specific virulence, but only at trace levels with isolates possessing V6-virulence. Strata-derived isolates were phenotypically indistinguishable from Cascade-adapted isolates when inoculated onto the cultivars Cascade, Strata, and Symphony, as only Strata-derived and Cascade-adapted isolates could cause severe disease on Cascade and Strata. Like Cascade-adapted isolates, Strata-derived isolates also lack virulence on hop plants possessing the R-gene R6. These findings should inform both disease risk assessment in the field and future breeding tactics and strategies involving Strata. Further characterization of Strata is warranted to determine if its resistance is under the same genetic control as Cascade.

A field study on marching band members’ workload assessment

BACKGROUND: Marching band activities consist of both physically and cognitively demanding tasks. The demands that this activity has on players has largely been unstudied. OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to investigate the effects of players’ experience level, role, and gender on the workload of marching band players via a field study. METHODS: Surveys were issued during one game day to the Oregon State University Marching Band (OSUMB) in the fall of 2017. Increments of discomfort ratings and workload ratings were gathered. The three independent variables were experience level (novice or experienced), role (leader or non-leader), and gender. RESULTS: Novice players had a higher discomfort for their left hand and a higher level of cognitive demand as opposed to experienced players. Leaders had a higher increment of discomfort in their neck and upper back, and higher workload ratings in their performance workload and overall weighted workload than the non-leaders. Gender had no effect on increment of discomfort and workload, but some trends were noted. CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that players’ role and experience, but not gender, can influence their workloads and discomfort.

Why Age Matters to Higher Education: Age-Friendly Tools and Techniques for Culture Change

Momentum is growing for the Age-Friendly University Network as proponents, primarily gerontology educators, have successfully encouraged university presidents to sign nonbinding pledged to become more age-friendly in programs and policies, endorsing 10 Age-Friendly University Principles. While this trend is inspiring, more is needed to fully achieve benefits for universities, students, communities, and older adults. Four presentations discuss innovative ways of deepening university commitment, weaving the principles into the fabric of the university. The first paper describes thematic content analysis from five focus groups with admissions and career services staff at Washington University in St. Louis and the recommendations that emerged for the provision of programs and services for post-traditional students. The second paper describes efforts to utilize community-impact internships and community partnerships to build support for Age-Friendly University initiatives at Central Connecticut State University, particularly in the context of the university’s recent Carnegie Foundation Engaged Campus designation. The third paper describes how Drexel University became Philadelphia’s first Age-Friendly University and current efforts in the Drexel College of Nursing and Heatlh Care Profession’s AgeWell Collaboratory to convene university-wide leadership for an AFU Steering Committee working on four mission-driven efforts to ensure AFU sustainability. The fourth paper describes steps taken by AFU proponents at Western Oregon State University to gain endorsement from university leadership and community, including mapping the 10 AFU Principles to the university’s strategic plan, faculty senate endorsement, and survey/interview results of older community members’ use of the university, which collectively have enhanced deeper and broader campus buy-in of AFU.

Developing a Virtual Undergraduate Research Symposium in Response to COVID-19 Disruptions: Building a Canvas-Based Shared Platform and Pondering Lessons Learned

Oregon State University (OSU) partnered with OSU Ecampus, its online degree-granting unit, to develop a Canvas studio site to host a spring research symposium. Easy-to-navigate college-level pages with discussion boards for each student presenter were created. Students were asked to (1) pre-record a three-minute lightning talk by capturing a voice narrative over a PowerPoint slide deck and (2) upload their talks, along with a written narrative, into a pre-made discussion board.