Wed, Nov. 20, 11:00AM MST

Recognizing diseases of hemp grown in the U.S. Pacific Northwest

Ken Frost is an Associate Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist in the Department of Botany and Plant Pathology at Oregon State University. His research and extension program is located at the Hermiston Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Hermiston, Oregon, and focuses on the ecology, epidemiology, and management of pathogens that cause diseases of irrigated crops. His research seeks to learn how variability in the environment affects pathogen growth, survival, and dispersal and influences disease intensity and pattern. His research group has examined how different crop management practices change the soil microbiome, and are associated with varying disease and yield outcomes. His research group also provides disease diagnostic services for farmers in the Columbia Basin of Oregon and Washington, which has led to several first reports of diseases affecting hemp in the Pacific Northwest. Recently, Dr. Frost’s group has helped to document both hemp industry needs and the relative importance of different diseases affecting hemp production in Oregon.