Ashley Thompson

Ashley Thompson
she/her/hers

Assistant Professor of Horticulture

Contact for questions about commercial cherry and pear production in Wasco and Hood River Counties.

[email protected]

Expertise: Fruit trees

Locations: Hood River County , Wasco County

Biography

Ashley Thompson, Ph.D. is the extension tree fruit horticulturalist for Wasco and Hood River Counties. Her areas of research interest include:

  • Soil fertility management
  • Plant nutrition
  • Sustainable tree fruit production
  • Rootstocks and varieties
  • Tree fruit viruses and phytoplasmas

Ashley also works closely with interdisciplinary teams to:

  • Create enterprise budgets for tree fruit producers
  • Protect the working lands of the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area
  • Improve the health and safety for farmworkers

Content by Ashley Thompson

2024 Pest Management Guide for Tree Fruits: Hood River, The Dalles, White Salmon, Rogue Valley, Umatilla County

This guide provides tree fruit growers with the latest information on pesticides and herbicides for fruit trees. People who grow apples, pears and cherries can learn application rates and recommendations for each stage of tree growth.

Ashley Thompson, Rick Hilton, Achala KC, Marcelo Moretti, Jay W. Pscheidt, Nik Wiman, Christopher Adams, Andony Melathopoulos, Cody Copp | May 2024 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

2023 Wasco County Cherry Variety Trial

OSU extension has been collecting data about emerging cherry varieties at the Wasco County "Cemetery Block" variety trial since the mid-1990s. Each year, we provide an update on cherry bloom dates, harvest, and quality measures.

Ashley Thompson, Lynn Long, Eliott Gloeb, Pamela Manning | Jan 2024 | Publication

Western Boxelder Bug Feeding Damage in Pear

In pear fruit, injury from boxelder bug feeding looks nearly identical to damage caused by the invasive brown marmorated stink bug. Learn how to tell which bug caused feeding damage to your pears.

Eliott Gloeb, Christopher Adams, Maggie Freeman, Ashley Thompson | Dec 2023 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

It has been a bad year for PNW cherry growers

Like many cropping systems, economic productivity varies from year to year, and is based on many factors. Increases in cherry production in California affect Oregon and Washington production, market value, and even workforce. This ...

Tim Delbridge, Ashley Thompson | Aug 2023 | Article Peer reviewed (Gray level)

Picking and Storing Apples and Pears

For the best apples and pears, home orchardists and small farmers pick fruit at optimum maturity. Apples and pears harvested at the right time taste better than fruit picked at other times. They store better, ...

Ashley Thompson, Kelsey Galimba, Eliott Gloeb | Dec 2022 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Identifying Serious Virus and Phytoplasma Symptoms in Your Cherry Orchard

Identifying Serious Virus and Phytoplasma Symptoms in Your Cherry Orchard

Ashley Thompson, Christopher Adams, Jay W. Pscheidt | Oct 2022 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Getting Ahead of X-disease

X-disease has become a cyclic problem on the West Coast as outbreaks of X-disease emerge every 20 years or so. Understanding X-disease and identifying and removing infected trees will help break this cycle.

Ashley Thompson, Christopher Adams, Lauri Reinhold, Jay W. Pscheidt | Aug 2022 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

2021Cemetery Block Cherry Variety Evaluation

2021 fruit characteristics of sweet cherry cultivars and selections under evaluation in The Dalles at the Cemetery Block. All data was evaluated from 25 samples of each cultivar.

Lynn Long, Ashley Thompson, David Crawford, Pamela Manning | May 2022 | Educational document

Sweet Cherry Rootstocks for the Pacific Northwest

Cherry growers have many options when it comes to choosing rootstocks. The combination of new dwarfing rootstocks with high-density training systems leads to earlier production. But growers need to consider soil ...

Lynn Long, Clive Kaiser, Ashley Thompson | Sep 2021 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Sweet Cherry Cultivars for the Fresh Market

Describes dark red and blush sweet cherry cultivars, including harvest timing, color when ripe, suggested pollinizers and rootstocks, size, firmness, yield potential, and other traits. Includes color photo of each cultivar.

Ashley Thompson, Matthew Whiting, Lynn Long | Jan 2021 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

How to Spot Signs of X-Disease in Cherries

Field workers picking cherries can use this card to identify signs of X-Disease in a cherry orchard. One side of the card is in English and the other side is in Spanish. Los trabajadores de campo que ...

Ashley Thompson | Mar 2020 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

Managing Diseases and Insects in Home Orchards

This pest management guide is for the home gardener. It recommends management practices for controlling diseases and insects in home orchards. It doesn't meet the exacting requirements of the commercial fruit grower.

Jay W. Pscheidt, Heather Stoven, Ashley Thompson, Brooke Edmunds, Nik Wiman, Richard Hilton | Mar 2020 | Extension Catalog publication Peer reviewed (Orange level)

OSU Extension outreach helps slow the spread of deadly X-disease in cherries

In the gorge, a survey of 50 orchardists at the 2022 Cherry Day suggests that 86% of those cherry producers can confidently identify X-disease and 48% have removed at least one infected tree since Thompson started her outreach in 2018.

Ashley Thompson, Cody Copp | Apr 2023 | Impact story

New OSU Extension cards help Oregon's cherry growers identify X disease

Controlling X disease is vital to the health of Oregon’s cherry industry.

Chris Branam | Jun 11, 2020 | News story

Facing down health and economic concerns, Extension helps deliver successful Oregon cherry harvest in Wasco County

With the COVID-19 pandemic causing high infection rates in other agricultural regions of the Pacific Northwest, cherry growers in Wasco County worried that their workers would be unable or unwilling to travel north from California to pick.

Jim Sloan | Jul 6, 2020 | News story

Get a leg up on fruit tree problems with dormant oils

Applying dormant sprays helps control nasty pests and diseases like codling moths and apple scab.

Kym Pokorny | Dec 14, 2023 | News story

Migrant and seasonal farm workers in the Columbia River Gorge supported during pandemic

Extension’s multi-pronged approach resulted in fewer cases of COVID-19.

Ashley Thompson, Lynette Black | Mar 2021 | Impact story

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