LUBBOCK West Texans can learn how to keep their landscape and shade trees healthy and long-lived at a tree health conference slated in March at two locations, said a Texas Agricultural Extension Service plant pathologist. “Our first tree health conference is March 23 at the Texas A&M University Research and Extension Center in Lubbock,”…
WESLACO Curious kids in the Lower Rio Grande Valley are getting the chance to taste rare types of citrus from all over the world as they tour the Texas A&M-Kingsville Citrus Center at Weslaco. The tours and taste treats that started in February are the immediate rewards the kids get for taking part in…
WESLACO Scientists at Texas A&M and the U.S. Department of Agriculture in South Texas are studying the irradiation of grapefruit to extend its shelf life, provide a safe and effective quarantine treatment against fruit flies and increase levels of vitamins and other healthful compounds. Dr. Bhimu Patil, a post-harvest physiologist at the Texas A&M-Kingsville…
COLLEGE STATION A child won’t have to be a bookworm to get excited about growing plants. The new Junior Master Gardener Handbook and accompanying teacher’s guide is expected to sprout new gardening enthusiasts where ever it is used. “Our hope is that the Junior Master Gardener program will use horticulture as a tool for…
HEREFORD Late blight is the single most destructive potato disease, but growers can employ best management practices to prevent, or limit, the spread of this pest in their crop, said a Montana State University plant pathologist at the recent West Texas Vegetable Conference here. “We know potato late blight as the cause of the…
HEREFORD Vegetable growers must be flexible enough to embrace new business practices, new technology and new ways of thinking to sell their produce successfully to large retail chains, a panel of experts said at the recent West Texas Vegetable Conference here. The panel included John McClung, president of the Texas Citrus and Vegetable Association;…
HEREFORD Retail consolidation in the vegetable industry is scary, but inevitable, said John McClung, president of the Texas Citrus and Vegetable Association, at the recent West Texas Vegetable Conference here. “Consolidation is intimidating to growers, shippers and packers but it is an inescapable part of doing business in the future,” McClung said….
HEREFORD Vegetable growers can improve their odds of getting a good crop stand by following a few simple practices, said a Texas A&M horticulturist at the recent West Texas Vegetable Conference here. “Our top priorities in getting a good vegetable stand are good seedbed preparation, providing adequate soil moisture, and protecting seedlings once they…
WESLACO Leading authorities in the growing of herbs, a hobby rapidly gaining popularity across the country and the Lower Rio Grande Valley, will be on hand at the First Annual Rio Grande Valley Herb Extravaganza to be held Saturday, Feb. 5, at the Harlingen Public Library. “We are very excited about being able to…
COLLEGE STATION — When professionals in the computer-networked business world park their hard drives on weekends, many head to the suburbs for something less stressful such as gardening. But while the rows of plants offer respite from corporate mergers and down-sizing, for example, leisure-time gardeners find that flowers and vegetables have their own set of…
