Food in Texas. People connected to any
phase of that industry - from growers to shippers to processors
- are encouraged to attend the third annual Advanced
Horticulture Food Crops Symposium here.
Sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension's
Horticulture Food Crops Group, the event will be September 29
- October 1 in Rudder Tower on the Texas A&M University
campus. Registration is $130 prior to Sept. 15 or $140
thereafter.
"The face of agriculture is rapidly
changing. The way crops are produced and marketed is becoming
more competitive as market windows shrink and competition
increases," said Dr. Frank Dainello, Extension commercial
vegetable crops specialist and co-organizer of the event. "If
producers are to remain competitive and profitable in today's
agricultural climate, the need to minimize input expense while
maximizing profits is more important now than ever."
The symposium is a medium to provide
in-depth information on a range of topics impacting plant
growth, yield, quality and profitability of production, he said.
Featured speaker will be Dr. Blaine
Hanson, irrigation engineer at the University of
California-Davis. He will discuss design and management of drip
irrigation systems and managing water, salts and fertilizers
with such systems.
The speakers and topics on opening day,
Sept. 29, include: Dr. Mark McFarland, Extension agronomist,
nitrogen sources; Dr. Sam Feagley, Extension soil specialist,
soil physics; Dr. Russ Wallace, Extension vegetable
specialist-Lubbock, herbicides; and Dr. Mark Black, Extension
plant pathologist, disease control.
On Sept 30, speakers and topics include:
Dr. Joe Pena, Extension economist in Uvalde, why small farms
fail; Dr. George McEachern, Extension horticulturist,
root-soil-water interactions; Dr. Dave Reed, Texas Agricultural
Experiment Station horticulture researcher, hormone growth
regulators; Dr. Al Wagner, Extension food technologist, food
safety; and Dr. Don Renchie, Extension agriculture and
environmental safety specialist, laws and regulations.
Also, Dr. Leonard Pike, Experiment
Station's Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center director,
breeding for health benefits; and Dr. Dan Lineberger, Texas A&M
horticulture professor, the Internet as a management and
marketing tool.
The final day, Oct. 1, will include talks
by Jim Kamas, Extension horticulturist-Gillespie County,
peaches; Dr. Ed Hellman, Extension viticulturist-Lubbock,
grapes; Dr. Larry Stein, Extension horticulturist-Uvalde, apples
and pears, and fertilizer application techniques for vegetables;
Dr. Juan Anciso, Extension vegetable specialist-Weslaco,
integrated pest management; Wallace, vegetable herbicides; and
Dainello, vegetable crop water use.
