POWELL BUTTE, Ore. (AP) - The future of an agricultural research farm in Powell Butte is in limbo as state officials decide what to do with the land.
The Bend Bulletin reports that (https://bit.ly/2fciASo) the 80-acre site was primarily used by Oregon State University to experiment with potato seeds.
But it was shut down in 2010 after a nematode — a roundworm that lives on plants — was discovered that could threaten potato crops.
The site was a major part of the Tri-State Potato Breeding Program, which includes Oregon State University, University of Idaho and Washington State University.
If funded, potential treatments at Powell Butte would include fumigating the ground with a proven pesticide, applying mustard meal that kills the nematode or planting nematode-resistant potatoes.
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