This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
By Tiah Edmunson-Morton
Title: Hops Research Reports, 1956-1995
Predominant Dates: 1967-1995
ID: RG 262
Extent: 2.0 cubic feet. More info below.
Arrangement: This collection is arranged in one series: Research Reports, 1956-1995.
Languages of Materials: English [eng]
Efforts at Oregon State University to improve hop production scientifically started in the 1890s, but were largely abandoned with the beginning of Prohibition. Oregon State University and the United States Department of Agriculture formed a partnership in 1930 to establish a research program dedicated to developing new hop varieties suited for growing in the Pacific Northwest, determining best practices for processing and packaging, and combatting pests and disease problems that were plaguing the industry.
These annual progress reports document the research of the hop investigations; the collection also includes reports from programs in other countries.
All of the Hops Research Reports (1930-1995) have been digitized.
These hop research reports were generated or collected by Oregon State University research faculty and the United States Department of Agriculture; they pertain mainly to projects carried out by Oregon State University and the USDA. Of special note is the 1956 “Annual Report of Hop Investigations,” which is the year the Cascade hop was bred; it was released in 1972.
Some of these reports also include original photographs.
Topics included in these reports are hop production statistics; brewing statistics; breeding experiments for yield, disease resistance, quality; germplasm evaluation; hop chemistry; USDA research reports and planning in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho; news article reprints; research data; the evaluation of fungicides, insecticides, and weed control measures; budget proposals; development of lab techniques; and increasing and maintaining yield.
Reports for the years 1930-1969 can be found in the Agricultural Experiment Station Records (RG 025). All of the Hops Research Reports (1930-1995) have been digitized.
There are also reports in this collection that are not from the USDA program, but they were collected by scientists at Oregon State University. These reports include studies from the Institute of Hop Research in Zalec, Yugoslavia and the Laboratory of Organic Chemistry at the State University of Ghent, Belgium.
Efforts at Oregon State University to improve hop production scientifically started in the 1890s, but were largely abandoned with the beginning of Prohibition. Following repeal of Prohibition, the hop industry quickly recovered, only to be threatened again by the invasion of downy mildew. At that time, most American hops were the Clusters variety, which was extremely susceptible to the downy mildew pathogen. Further, most American hops were grown in Oregon's Willamette Valley, a high-rainfall area ideally suited to downy mildew infections.
U.S. government support for hop research started at Oregon State University in 1930, a time when the majority of American hops were grown in Oregon. Initial research efforts focused on breeding new varieties with a genetic resistance to downy mildew and that were suited for growing in the Pacific Northwest, as well as developing chemical control measures to combat the pest and disease problems that were plaguing the industry. In later years, work expanded to include agronomic, physiological, pathology, chemical investigations, and processing and packaging. Research also expanded to Washington and Idaho.
Over the years many Oregon State University departments and researchers have participated in the program. Departments represented in the reports in this collection include Farm Crops, Botany and Plant Pathology, Agricultural Chemistry, Weed Science, and Entomology. The Agricultural Experiment Stations of California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington are also represented in the reports. Departments from Washington State University that participated in the program for these years include the Irrigated Agriculture Research and Extension Center, the College of Agriculture, and Home Economics. Research divisions at the Agricultural Research Service and U.S. Department of Agriculture include the Tobacco and Specialty Crops Section, Crops Research Division; the Oilseed and Industrial Crops Research Branch; and the Plant Science Research Division.
Other notable related organizations include the Oregon and Washington hops commissions, Hop Growers of America, Hop Research Council, U.S. Hop Administration Committee, U.S. Brewers Association, American Society of Brewing Chemists, and Miller Brewing Company.
Since the program began there have been many people who participated in the research. Oregon State University researchers involved in the work included in this collection include Stanley Brooks (Research Agronomist), Chester Horner (Agent Plant Pathologist), Sam Likens (Chemist), WD Loomis, LC Terriere, U Kiigemagi, Gail Nickerson (Agricultural Chemistry), JF Anderson, Charles Zimmerman, AP Appleby (Weed Science), RE Berry (Entomology), Ulrich Gampert (Research Assistant), Peggy Whitney (Research Assistant), Donna Kling (Research Assistant). Researchers from Washington State University include CE Nelson, WW Cone, RE Klein, RG Evans, R Parker, RG Stevens, and Steve Kenny. Researchers for the USDA include Alfred Haunold (Genetics USDA-ARS), Richard Hampton (Pathology USDA-ARS), and RH Converse (USDA-SEA Virology).
More Extent Information: 2 boxes
Statement on Access: Collection is open for research.
Acquisition Note: These reports were donated to the Special Collections and Archives Research Center by Dr. Shaun Townsend, Crop and Soil Science Department, in 2016.
Related Materials:
The Hops Research Reports collection is complemented by several other collections. The Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives Oral History Collection (OH 35) includes interviews with Oregon State University and USDA researchers, as well as other related to agriculture and brewing in the Pacific Northwest. All oral histories are available online.
Of special note are the Agricultural Experiment Station Records (RG 025); Crop Science Department Records (RG 095); Extension Service Records (RG 111); Botany and Plant Pathology Department Records (RG 054); the Hops Research Council Records (MSS HRC); Oregon Hop Growers Association Records (MSS OHGA); the Hop Press Newsletters (PUB 487); and the Brewing and Fermentation Research Collection (MSS BFRC).
There are also many pictures included in photographic collections such as the Extension and Experiment Station Communications Photograph Collection (P 120); the Extension Bulletin Illustrations Photograph Collection (P 020); the Agriculture Photograph Collection (P 040); and the Gerald W. Williams Collection (MSS WilliamsG).
Additional materials related Oregon State University research and manuscript collections are detailed on the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives library research guide. More information pertaining to the history of hop growing and brewing in Oregon can be found on the Oregon Hops and Brewing Archives website.
Preferred Citation: Hops Research Reports (RG 262), Oregon State University Special Collections and Archives Research Center, Corvallis, Oregon.
Agriculture--California.
Agriculture--Oregon.
Hops--Diseases and pests--Oregon.
Hops--Oregon.
Hops and Brewing
Hops industry--Oregon.
Photographic prints.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.