AUBURN UNIVERSITY, Ala.— Join the Alabama Cooperative Extension commercial horticulture team for a conventional and organic vegetable crop field day on May 31. The field day will be held at the E.V. Smith Research Center in Shorter, Alabama from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Lunch will be provided. Tours will begin at the plant breeding unit at the railroad track and county road 40, just off Highway 229.
Andre da Silva, an Alabama Extension vegetable crop specialist, said the tour will be a great learning and networking opportunity for both growers and regional agents.
“Our main goal is to help bolster the Alabama vegetable crop industry by educating growers on best management practices,” Silva said. “We are going to discuss variety selection, how to care for vegetable crops and talk about ways to increase production as well as income.”
Silva said many growers have shown interest in transitioning to organic production.
“We are going to teach attendees about the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) five-step process to transition to organic production,” he said. “We cannot certify attendees, but we hope to help them gain a better understanding of the process.”
Program Agenda
The first hour of the program will have tours of the research trials. The second hour of the program will include lunch and presentations. Topics and speakers include the following:
- Andre da Silva, Alabama Extension
- Crop management: Variety selection, hops production, irrigation and fertilizer management, organic transition and certification
- Ed Sikora, Alabama Extension
- Disease management: Disease detection and spraying programs
- Ayanava Majumdar, Alabama Extension
- Insect management: Insect identification and IPM programs
Attendees will have the opportunity to see lettuce, tomato, peppers, broccoli and other crops. Producers should be able to find options that work for their specific locations.
Registration
Call the Macon County Extension office at 334-727-0340 to register. For more information about the tour, contact Silva. For more information about the supporting programs visit www.aces.edu.
