WSU News Archive

 

 

Michelle Moyer in a vineyard in Oppenheim, Germany. (Photo by Franziska Doerflinger)

A Wisconsin "farm kid," Michelle Moyer declined to work in the family landscaping business in order to become the newest member of WSU’s viticulture and enology faculty.

 

“Luckily, the ornamental horticulture and viticulture industries are very similar in terms of business practices," she said. "That made it easy to convince them I wasn’t really leaving the family trade, only expanding to a new, exciting area in horticulture.”

 

Moyer will assume responsibilities statewide as WSU Extension viticultural specialist Feb. 1.

 

First steps
In collaboration with WSU’s viticulture and enology team and the state’s burgeoning industry, Moyer will provide leadership in developing and conducting educational and applied research programs that address the major issues in the production of wine and juice grapes in Washington.

 

Her research will focus on the economic aspects of grape production and on wine quality. She will mentor and teach graduate and certificate-program students.

 

“I want to get to know the industry,” Moyer said. “The first few months will be going on a listening tour, including attending growing meetings in western Washington. The industry is large and diverse, both geographically and economically, so meeting all of the players is an absolute must.”

 

Washington’s wine industry is the second largest and fastest growing in the nation, with a global economic impact of close to $6 billion annually.

“A lot of what I do and how I prioritize my research and extension activities will be based on what growers tell me they want and need when I arrive in Washington,” Moyer said. “I’m thrilled to be joining this incredible industry.”

 

Developed disease risk model
She recently graduated from Cornell University with a Ph.D. in plant pathology.

 

"I fell in love with grapes while living in New York,” she said.

 

She studied the biology of grapevine powdery mildew and developed a risk assessment model to help eastern grape growers decide when to spray and optimize control strategies.

 

“New York is very wet, and growers typically spray up to 15 times per year," Moyer said. "So anything we can do to minimize that is money in their pockets, whether through reduced spraying or more effective control with the current spray programs."

“I have a strong background in horticulture,” she said, “so the math-intensive powdery mildew modeling was a good challenge.”

 

Washington issues
Economic issues are among the priorities she hopes to address in Washington, Moyer said.

 

“Wine grape production is getting more and more competitive,” she said, “so it makes sense to develop really robust economic modeling systems to help with various aspects of viticultural enterprises.

 

"I’m also really interested in learning and expanding the cultivar options that the various regions of Washington can grow,” she said.

 

She hopes to work on a site-selection tool for growers incorporating her work with disease models. She’ll have a good foundation to build on, since WSU soil sciences graduate student Ian Yau has created a tool based on soil profiles and weather data, while Vinifera Euro Master’s student Linn Scott has done preliminary flavor mapping of Washington rieslings.

Note: To share this article, please click the orange-colored 'Share' button at the top or bottom of the page

 Print  Email  Facebook  Twitter  Release  Share

	email
	digg
	del.icio.us
	google
	newsvine
	reddit
	yahoo!
	release