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Spring 2024

Agriculture

Summer 2023

Cougar X winemaker Cameron Rushton (and his wine tasting tips)

Cameron Rushton is happy to sip other winemakers’ whites. But when it comes to crafting his own wine, he sticks to his specialty: robust reds.

Rushton (’10 Hort.), co-owner and assistant winemaker at Five Star Cellars in Walla Walla and creator of Cougar X, makes the wines he especially enjoys pairing with a juicy steak. Cabernet franc tops his list of varietals. Merlot is right up there, too. He also likes tempranillo, malbec, and sangiovese—big, bold, highly ageable reds.

“I don’t make a lot of white,” he says. “I’d rather drink everybody else’s”—Poet’s Leap by Long Shadows Vintners, for example. “I … » More …

Sunflower destroyed by white mold
Winter 2022

Bad fungus

Not all fungi are good for plants or bees, or even people.

Anyone who has experienced mold outbreaks, wilting vegetable plants, or devastated flowers knows the destructive power of fungi. Washington State University researchers and Extension outreach specialists lead the fight against some these sinister fungi.

 

Fighting fungus in apples, pears under storage

Molds and fungi can wreck a good apple or pear.

Just ask Achour Amiri, assistant professor and researcher at the Washington State University Tree Fruit Research & Extension Center in Wenatchee. He specializes in diseases that spoil tree fruit and he can be found working in packing rooms … » More …

Detail of canoe made of mushroom
Winter 2022

A boatload of ideas for fungi

Fungi and mycelium provide a flexible, earth-friendly material for all kinds of products.

Washington State University student Katy Ayers built a world record-setting canoe out of mycelium, her MyConoe. That’s just the beginning of her ideas about materials made from fungus. Larry Clark, editor of Washington State Magazine, talked with Ayers about products made from fungi and mycelium, along with potential fungi items such as fishing bobbers and hunting blinds.

 

Listen to the podcast:

Transcript

 

Find more podcast episodes, and ways to subscribe and listen.

Read more in “It’s fungi to the rescue” (Winter 2022)

 

» More …