Three workshops set on management practices for chemically defended plants in August
Programs in Sonora, Hunt and San Angelo focus on redberry juniper and honey mesquite control
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host three free workshops in August to discuss the role of prescribed fire and grazing in managing chemically defended plants on rangeland.
Workshops will be held from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at the following dates and locations. Preregistration is required and links are included below:
- Aug. 22: Texas A&M AgriLife Research Station at Sonora, 395 County Road 760, Sonora, https://tx.ag/SonoraPlantMgmt.
- Aug. 23: Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at San Angelo, 7887 U.S. Highway 87 North, San Angelo, https://tx.ag/SAPlantMgmt.
- Aug. 26: Kerr Wildlife Management Area, 2625 Farm-to-Market Road 1340, Hunt. Register at https://tx.ag/HuntPlantMgmt.
For more information, contact Deann Burson, doctoral student in the Texas A&M Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, at [email protected].
Targeted approaches in managing chemically defended plants discussed
Burson said chemically defended plants are plants that produce an array of phytochemicals to defend their foliage from selection and consumption by herbivores. Management practices, such as prescribed fire, may temporarily affect the production of these phytochemical compounds.
The workshops will highlight current and past research aimed at understanding the role of prescribed fire in the management of chemically defended plants, such redberry juniper and honey mesquite.
The workshops also will discuss grazing best practices landowners can use to mitigate chemically defended plants on rangelands, she said.
Participants will also tour research plots and view a demonstration of the new AgriLife Extension toxic plant identification mobile application, which was developed to assist producers in identifying and managing toxic plants within specific ecoregions of the state.
The workshops will also showcase the latest graduate student research from the department’s doctoral students.
Funding for this project is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service’s Grazing Lands Conservation Initiative.
On the agenda
The topics and speakers are:
- Toxic and chemically defended plant management — Cody Scott, Ph.D., professor, Department of Agriculture, Angelo State University, San Angelo.
- Targeted approaches to fire and grazing — Doug Tolleson, Ph.D., Texas A&M AgriLife Research rangeland management specialist and associate professor in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Sonora.
- Graduate research session —Burson, Camille Carey, Tim Lyons and Chali Simpson, doctoral students, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences.
- Using the AgriLife Extension toxic plant identification app — Burson.
