Small grains field plot tour set May 25 at Bushland

AgriLife Today

By: Kay Ledbetter
806-677-5608
skledbetter@ag.tamu.edu

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and Texas A&M AgriLife Research will jointly host a “Small Grains Plot Tour” on May 25 at the Conservation and Production Laboratory, 2301 Experiment Station Road, Bushland.

The program and plot tour will begin at 9 a.m. and conclude at 11:30. The tour is free, and requires no registration. Participants will meet at the irrigated wheat nursery at the Conservation and Production Laboratory operated by Texas A&M AgriLife and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service. Once participants arrive at the laboratory, they should follow the signs to the wheat plots.

“Regionally, we’ve had another really tough year,” said Jourdan Bell, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist, Amarillo. “Like last year, most of the wheat has been negatively impacted by drought, Russian wheat aphids, wheat streak mosaic virus, wind and above-average temperatures. We are also seeing lower yield potentials in irrigated wheat. The plot tour will provide producers an opportunity to see which varieties are performing well under these conditions.”

Coordinating tours will be AgriLife Extension agriculture and natural resources county agents Rick Auckerman, Deaf Smith; Mason Carter, Oldham; Megan Eikner, Potter; J. D. Ragland, Ph.D., Randall; Jody Bradford, Carson; and Sami Hatley, Armstrong. Producers from throughout the region are invited to attend.

On the agenda

Topics and speakers will be:

• Current Conditions and the High Plains Uniform Variety Trials, Bell.
• New and Upcoming Wheat and Triticale Varieties, Jackie Rudd, Ph.D., AgriLife Research wheat breeder, Amarillo, and Jason Baker, AgriLife Research senior research associate, Amarillo.
• Current Insect Pressure in High Plains Wheat, Jose Santiago Gonzalez, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension entomologist, Amarillo.
• Texas Wheat Producer Board Update, Darby Campsey, Texas Wheat Producers director of communications and producer relations, Amarillo.
• Tour Irrigated Uniform Variety Trial, Bell.
• Increasing Demand for Small Grain Forages, Jason Smith, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension beef cattle specialist, Amarillo.
• Irrigated Small Grain Silage Trial, Bell.