40 OregonStater.org WALDO: ROBERT W. HENDERSON; STRIK: LYNN KETCHUM ↑ Alumnus George F. Waldo, seen here in 1973, developed two berry varieties that helped define Oregon as berry country. ↓ In her 34 years at OSU, Professor Emerita Bernadine Strik helped the Pacific Northwest become one of the biggest producers of blueberries in the world. DURING his 33-year career with the USDA’s Agricultural Research Service, working side by side with Oregon State horticulturists, George F. Waldo (Class of 1922), released many beloved berries, but none more famous than the Hood strawberry and the marionberry. Both fruits are prized for their exceptional flavor and, because they’re too delicate to ship fresh, are known outside Oregon mostly in processed or frozen forms. Oregon’s fleeting Hood strawberries, released by Waldo in 1965, make their way into jams, yogurts and premium ice creams like Tillamook, Salt & Straw and Häagen-Dazs. Meanwhile, the even more famous marionberry — introduced in 1956 and dubbed the “king of blackberries” — stars in jam, candies and cocktails, as well as in the official Oregon state pie. Together, these berries epitomize the fruitful partnership (pun intended) between Oregon State and the USDA, which has been breeding berry varieties for the Pacific Northwest since 1917. Thanks in part to that collaboration, Oregon now leads the nation in the cultivation of blackberries, raspberries and boysenberries; ranks No. 2 for blueberries; and ranks No. 3 for strawberries and cranberries. All told, the state produces more than 276 million pounds of berries every year. ONE ALUMNUS DEVELOPED TWO LEGENDARY OREGON BERRIES. 1NO. 2NO. IF WALDO gave Oregon its iconic blackberry and strawberry, decades later it was Professor Emerita Bernadine Strik who made sure blueberries didn’t get left behind. In her 34 years as a berry specialist for Oregon State University Extension Service, she changed the way blueberries are planted and raised, helping turn the Pacific Northwest into one of the biggest producers in the world. Her landmark 14-year study on organic production found that planting bushes closer together than was the norm boosted yields by 50% in their early years — and that the edge held as bushes matured. She also showed that trellising sped up machine harvesting. With her insights, the state’s blueberry acreage surged from 1,200 to 15,000 during her tenure alone. All this earned her a nickname: “At one of the dean’s dinners about five years before I retired, the Dean of the College of Ag Sciences at OSU introduced me as the Berry Goddess,” Strik told Oregon Public Broadcasting in 2022. “And I thought, ‘Man, if you have a nickname, that’s a good one!’” Today, Oregon and Washington grow more blueberries than any other states, and the United States ranks behind only China. Strik earned the International Society for Horticultural Science’s highest honor for her work. She died in 2023 at age 60, having changed the blueberry industry from the ground up. OSU’S “BERRY GODDESS” REVOLUTIONIZED THE BLUEBERRY INDUSTRY.
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