Lukas Takes Over as Top Berry Researcher at OSU

Scott Lukas has replaced Bernadine Strik, who retired last year as Extension Berry Specialist. Lukas started July 1 as the Endowed Professor of Northwest Berry Production and Management for Oregon State University.

Scott Lukas, speaking at the 2022 Oregon Blueberry Field Day, is the new Endowed Professor of Northwest Berry Production and Management for OSU. Bernadine Strik, whom Lukas replaced, is pictured behind him.

Lukas, 41, spent the last six years as director of the OSU Horticulture Integrated Cropping Systems Program at the Hermiston Agriculture Research and Extension Center. He moved to the Willamette Valley in early September after transitioning into his new position over the summer.

Lukas received his bachelor of science from the University of Nevada, Reno, and his master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Hawaii. While at the University of Hawaii, he focused on optimizing cropping system management.

Lukas said he is thrilled to come into a program that has a strong foundation and is internationally recognized for its achievements.

“Bernadine has done a great job of building a robust program of renown reputation and infrastructure and she has created a strong team, with Amanda Davis and Patrick Jones as Senior Research Assistants,” Lukas said. “What I hope to do is build on the current program and help take the industry into the future.”

At Hermiston, Lukas worked on high-value irrigated specialty crops, including organic blueberries, watermelon, onions, broccoli and sweet corn.

Blueberry production issues in the Columbia Basin tend to center around soil amendments, he said. “Soil amendments and pH modification is pretty key over there,” he said. “There are other issues that arise with nutrient management under that lens of pH, but that is the big kicker. It’s how do we streamline that acidification process. “Although the climate is great in the eastern part of the state, it is almost the opposite soil that blueberry typically has evolved with,” he said.

Lukas said that he incorporated data-driven technology in his research in Hermiston and plans to do the same in his new position. “That is the direction that we see precision agriculture going, relying a bit more on the technology to help guide our decision making,” he said. “I want to introduce these data-driven technologies, like data-driven irrigation, or data-driven heat mitigation timing, over here.

“You see production across the country and across the world use some of these other approaches, and I think it is important to make sure that we are on the forefront of this advancement,” he said.

“But I don’t want to make any program changes until I come in and engage and meet the stakeholders and talk to the farmers and growers and learn more about what they are doing and what their needs are,” he said.

“I am a very needs-driven type of research and extension professional,” Lukas said.

Lukas said he also hopes to bring an open-door policy to his position. “I want to work with producers and growers in a way that I can call them out of the blue and they can call me out of the blue,” he said. “I want to have that relationship with the folks over here. That is how I strive to build programs.”

In his new position, Lukas is responsible for the design, development, implementation and evaluation of statewide Extension and teaching programs focused on physiology and production systems of berry crops. Lukas is working with several berry crops in addition to blueberries, including strawberries, cane berries and cranberries.

“It has a wide range,” he said. “But blueberries are clearly a large part of the program.”

The position also serves as the lead collaborator on the USDA-ARS Cooperative Breeding Program and the Berry Program Research Leader at the North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora.

Lukas said he is looking forward to working with the wide variety of researchers working in blueberries, including those from private industry, Washington State University, the USDA and researchers from British Columbia.

“It is important to look at how all of us can work together,” he said.