Wheat Insect and Disease Scouting School set for Sept. 16 in Canyon
Free half-day program will help Panhandle producers scout, identify and manage wheat pests and diseases
Texas Panhandle wheat producers can sharpen their scouting skills at the Wheat Insect and Disease Scouting School from 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Sept. 16, at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office for Randall County, 200 N. Brown Road in Canyon.
The program is offered annually by AgriLife Extension as a multi-county effort for wheat producers across the region, with the host county rotating each year.
There is no cost to attend. To register or for more information, contact J. D. Ragland, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources agent for Randall County, at 806-468-5543. Lunch will be provided and is sponsored by the Texas Wheat Producers Board.
Three Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator continuing education units will be offered — two general and one integrated pest management.
On the agenda
The topics and speakers from the Texas A&M AgriLife High Plains Research and Extension Center in Canyon and the region will include:
- Wheat pest identification – Tyler Gilreath, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension entomologist and assistant professor, Department of Entomology, Canyon.
- Beneficial insect identification – Blayne Reed, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management program specialist for the Mid High Plains and Upper Rolling Plains, Plainview.
- Scouting tips and techniques – John Thobe, AgriLife Extension integrated pest management program specialist for the Western High Plains, Muleshoe.
- Disease and fungus identification – Ken Obasa, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension plant pathologist, director of the Texas High Plains Plant Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and assistant professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Canyon.
- Agronomy management with a focus on winter and spring weed control – Kevin Heflin, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist and assistant professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Canyon.
- Texas Wheat Producers Board update – Bailey Sipes, director of producer relations for the Texas Wheat Producers Board, Amarillo.
