
Interview: Hermiston Potato Field Day With Sagar Sathuvalli
In late June, PNW Ag visited the Hermiston Potato Field Day in Oregon, hosted by OSU. Here we talked with Sagar Sathuvalli, Oregon State University's potato breeder.
PNW Ag: What was the purpose of today's field day?
Sagar Sathuvalli: The main goal of the field day at Hermiston Station is to provide an opportunity for the attendees to see what we are doing. That includes breeding efforts, plant pathology research, agronomy research, entomology research, and collaborative research. The aim of our field day is to make sure the attendees get a chance to feel the plants, touch them, look at the insects, and look at the nematodes from the soil that we extract. We also want to increase the relationship between us and the stakeholders, letting them see what we are doing.
PNW Ag: Do you feel like it was a good turnout?
Sagar Sathuvalli: It's getting better compared to pre-pandemic levels. We are only 10 percent less than pre-pandemic, which is good. Typically, we get like 100 to 125 - we're close to 100 people when I count. So we are on par with that, but we have not yet reached our pre-pandemic levels.
PNW Ag: You had a great lineup of speakers today. It was very interesting, and accessible even to people who don't know potatoes well.
Sagar Sathuvalli: Thanks. One of our goals is to make sure the attendees, growers, and stakeholders understand what research we are doing. It's an extension of outreach and as a land-grant university, it is one of our main objectives to come as close as possible to the growers. We always get positive feedback that we let people come touch, and walk through the fields to see what we are doing. Even non-potato people get to know how the potatoes look, what different colors potatoes are, how the infestation of, say, a Colorado potato beetle looks, and how it can eat or chew up a plant easily.
PNW Ag: Are you going to do any more?
Sagar Sathuvalli: We will have a farm fair in December with our research results and outside speakers. Our field days are once a year, so the next field day will be in June 2025, near the end of June on a Wednesday. We hold one after that on Thursday in Othello.
Potato Field Days 2024: Hermiston & Othello
Gallery Credit: PNW Ag Network
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