The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host a Hale/Swisher Cotton Field Day on Oct. 6 on the Reed Farm near Kress.
Registration and sign up will begin at 8:45 a.m. at Jeff’s Restaurant’s parking lot. The program is free, with sponsorship by Delta Pine. Jason Wade, AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent in Swisher County, and Blayne Reed, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management specialist Hale and Swisher counties, will lead the program.
Participants will travel to the demonstration plots on the Jeremy Reed farm featuring field trials for the “Finding Sustainable West Texas Agriculture Production with Diminished Irrigation Through Establishing Dryland” project.
The research project by Blayne Reed, Jourdan Bell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist, Amarillo; and Suhas Vyavhare, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension entomologist, Lubbock, is a demonstration of how Texas High Plains producers might profitably navigate into a research-proven, irrigation-limited sustainable West Texas production system.
Reed said the project is intended to support proven evolving research for Texas High Plains dryland production, irrigation scheduling and soil moisture conservation techniques. The intention is to promote a move toward sustainable West Texas production agriculture with less irrigation while rapidly adopting techniques that extend the life of the Ogallala Aquifer.
On the agenda
The field program will begin at 9:25 a.m. Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units – one integrated pest management and one general, will be offered.
Topics and speakers will include:
— “Finding Sustainable West Texas Agriculture Production with Diminished Irrigation Through Establishing Dryland” – Description, Concept and Trial/Pest Comparisons by Niche – Blayne Reed.
— Swisher County Irrigated Replicated Agronomic Cotton Evaluation, RACE, Trial and Swisher County Dryland RACE Trial – Bell and Jeremy Reed.
— Ideal Irrigated Plants Per Acre Trial/Ideal Dryland Plants Per Acre Trial – Blayne Reed.
— Cotton Integrated Pest Management, IPM, Updates and Research Results – Vyavhare, Blayne Reed and Pat Porter, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension entomologist, Lubbock.
— Forage and Silage Agronomy/IPM Updates and Research Results – Bell and Wade
The program will end by noon.
For more information, contact Wade at Jason.wade@ag.tamu.edu or 806-995-3721 or Reed at Blayne.reed@ag.tamu.edu or 806-291-5274.
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