College of Agricultural Sciences

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Two mild habanero peppers known as “Notta Hotta” and “Mild Thing” that retain the peppers’ unique fruity and floral fragrances and flavors but have lower heat levels are being released by Oregon State University.

“We had chefs walking up to them and looking at them and saying, ‘I know in my mind you've told me they're not hot, but physically I'm preparing for intense heat when I taste these,’” said Jim Myers, a vegetable breeder at Oregon State who spent the last 25 years developing the peppers.

NEWPORT, Oregon — Gray whales that spend their summers feeding in the shallow waters off the Pacific Northwest coast have undergone a significant decline in body length since around the year 2000, a new Oregon State University study found.

The smaller size could have major consequences for the health and reproductive success of the affected whales, and also raises alarm bells about the state of the food web in which they coexist, researchers say.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University will use a $3.5 million grant to lead a multi-state effort focused on developing new varieties of naked or hulless barley that appeal to chefs, brewers, distillers and farmers.

Most barley has a tough, unpalatable outer hull around the barley kernel that must be removed before the barley can be eaten. This process strips away most of the micronutrients and means it can no longer be called a whole grain.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Spray on coatings for grapes in the vineyard have promise in preventing off flavors in wines that result from contact with wildfire smoke, according to new Oregon State University research.

Oregon State researchers are developing a product that vineyard managers could spray onto their grapes to protect from wildfire smoke before it reaches their vines. The researchers expect to have a spray coating to prevent smoke damage available in the next several years.

CORVALLIS, Ore. – In a first-of-its-kind study of aardvarks, Oregon State University researchers spent months in sub-Saharan Africa collecting poop from the animal and concluded that aridification of the landscape is isolating them, which they say could have implications for their long-term survival.

“Everyone had heard of aardvarks and they are considered very ecologically important but there has been little study of them,” said Clint Epps, a wildlife biologist at Oregon State. “We wanted to see if we could collect enough data to begin to understand them.”