Texas Agriculture Daily News
Fruit and nut production workshop set
Tuesday, September 04, 2012
|
People interested in growing fruit and nut crops in Texas—whether commercially or at home—are encouraged to attend a meeting Oct. 11-12 at the Brazos Center, 3232 Briarcrest Dr., Bryan.
Talks will include new orchard establishment, insects and diseases, fruit varieties, and challenges and opportunities. Earth-Kind techniques for producing fruit and nuts will be discussed as well.
"The conference will be valuable to anyone interested in growing fruits or nuts for health, wealth or recreation," said Monte Nesbitt, AgriLife Extension horticulture program specialist in College Station, and one of the organizers. "While it will assist commercial fruit producers, it also will be helpful to homeowners and gardeners who simply want to grow fruits and nuts."
Because Texas has a wide range of weather, soil types and water availability, Nesbitt added, the varieties and methods for growing fruits and nuts differ among the regions.
"AgriLife Extension specialists from Fredericksburg, Lubbock, Uvalde and College Station will present successful growing practices for pecans, figs, citrus, olives and pomegranates," Nesbitt said. "High tunnels, tools for protecting fruit crops from frost damage and extending market windows will also be discussed."
Other fruit crops on the agenda are peaches, plums and other stone fruits, apples, pears, persimmons, blackberries, strawberries, blueberries and grapes.
Grower Dale Ham of Terrell will talk about his experiences growing peaches and berries at Ham Orchard.
Pesticide continuing education units are offered for this event.
The meeting, hosted by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, costs $75 via online registration at http://agriliferegister.tamu.edu through Oct. 2. AgriLife Extension county agents may register there for $45. On-site registration Oct. 11-12 is $80.
For more information and the complete schedule, see http://bit.ly/PtH8ql.
|
|
|
|
|
|