Texas New Fruit Growers conference set for Oct. 17-18 in Fredericksburg
Program will expose new and prospective growers to the basics of starting, managing fruit production business
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host the Texas New Fruit Growers conference on Oct. 17-18 in Fredericksburg.
The two-day event will be held from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on the first day and from 8 a.m. to noon on the second day at the AgriLife Extension office for Gillespie County at 38 Business Court.
The cost is $160, and registration is available until Oct. 10 at https://tx.ag/TxFruitGrowers or by phone 979-803-1372.
Three Texas Department of Agriculture — two general and one Integrated Pest Management — pesticide license continuing education credits are available.
About the conference
The program is designed to expose new and prospective growers to the basics of starting and managing a perennial fruit production business.
Texas is a unique, challenging and rewarding place to grow fruit trees, and experts from AgriLife Extension will guide attendees through the basics of site and resource evaluations for new fruit orchard and vineyard businesses.
Attendees will receive classroom instruction and visit established commercial fruit orchards.
Conference topics and events
- Site and resource evaluation for new fruit orchards, Jim Kamas, AgriLife Extension fruit specialist and associate professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Fredericksburg.
- Fruit orchard establishment, Larry Stein, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension horticulture specialist and professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Uvalde.
- Budgeting time resources — what it takes to start and manage an orchard, Jacy Lewis, manager of the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Viticulture and Fruit Lab in Fredericksburg, a part of the Department of Horticultural Sciences.
- Disease and insect threats to successful fruit production, Monte Nesbitt, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension horticulture specialist and associate professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
- Integrated pest management fundamentals for new fruit growers, Kyle Slusher, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension entomologist-pecan, viticulture and fruit and an assistant professor, Department of Entomology, Stephenville.
- Deciding what to grow: major production and marketing considerations, Tim Hartmann, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension horticulture specialist and assistant professor, Department of Horticultural Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
- Tree-to-plate networking luncheon.
- Live action lab with how-to demonstrations on tree and vine planting, training and pruning practices, irrigation for orchard establishment, fertilizer application, sprayer operation and weed control.
- Fast-forward orchard tour. Learning what others have done to establish and grow a fruit-centric business in the Texas Hill Country.
For more information, contact Nesbitt, at [email protected].
