A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service seminar on fruit trees will be held Jan. 24 in San Antonio (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
An Earth-Kind Fruit Tree Seminar for backyard and community gardeners, arborists, green industry professionals and small-acreage producers will be held Jan. 24 in the Education Room of the San Antonio Botanical Garden, 555 Funston Place, San Antonio.
The seminar is presented by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office for Bexar County, and its volunteer horticultural organization, the Bexar County Master Gardeners.
Check-in registration will be from 7:45-8:30 a.m. with the program from 8:35 a.m.-5:10 p.m. To register, go to https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/Bexar County.
The cost is $50 per person and includes a light breakfast, lunch and snacks.
Attendees are urged to register early as space is limited and no walk-ins will be accepted.
“Earth-Kind gardening is a combination of the best practices of conventional and organic gardening and emphasizes the reduced use of chemical inputs,” explained David Rodriguez, AgriLife Extension horticulturist for Bexar County.
Rodriguez said the seminar will address a variety of fruit trees such as peach, blackberry and citrus, as well as plant selection, planting and maintenance, and insect and disease control.
Presentations and presenters will include:
Blackberry, fig, peach and pear trees will be among the fruit trees discussed at the Jan. 24 seminar in San Antonio. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
— Peaches, Nectarines, Apricots and Oriental Persimmon Selection, Planting and Maintenance, Larry Stein, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension horticulturist, Uvalde.
— Blackberries, Figs and Pomegranate Selection, Planting and Maintenance, Beth McMahon, AgriLife Extension horticulturist, Gillespie County.
— Common Fruit Tree Insects and Controls, Wizzie Brown, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management program specialist, Travis County
— Common Fruit Tree Diseases and Controls, Kimberly Cochran, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension plant pathologist, Uvalde.
— Citrus and Banana Selection, Planting and Maintenance, Rodriguez.
— Grapes, Olives and Pears Selection, Planting and Maintenance, Andrew Labay, San Antonio Botanical Garden horticulturist.
Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units for private, non-commercial and commercial pesticide applicators will be offered – one integrated pest management and two general.
The seminar will also offer International Society of Arboriculture continuing education units as well as seven continuing education units for Texas Nursery Landscape Association and Master Gardeners. It will offer six units to certified arborists and municipal specialists – five units in the practice category and one in management.
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