Texas wheat producers will have several opportunities in coming weeks to assess the state’s wheat crop prospects with tours scheduled for Central Texas and up to the Chillicothe area.

Hardeman County field day CANCELED

The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s Hardeman County Wheat Field Tour at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research Chillicothe Station on May 13 has been cancelled due to storm damage.

 Steven Sparkman, AgriLife Extension agent for Hardeman County, said a storm May 8 laid the wheat plots down and did considerable damage to the guar and canola plots as well.

   “We had hail, high winds and a tornado that caused tremendous crop damage in the area,” Sparkman said. “Producers will be assessing storm damage and doing cleanup for the next few days. For that reason, we’ve elected to cancel the

For more information, contact Sparkman at 940-663-6301 or [email protected].

Observers say prospects are promising.

“With the great rains we’ve been having, this year’s variety plots should definitely reveal differences in disease resistance,” said Taylor County Extension agent Robert Pritz.

“It’s been a unique year with all of the moisture. I think wheat producers attending this tour will take home some valuable information on which varieties will perform at high levels of production and which ones don’t under our current growing conditions.”

Bushland

Wheat updates on everything from new varieties to food quality to dual-purpose management will be highlighted at the annual Wheat Field Day on May 21 near Bushland.

The free event will begin with registration at 8:30 a.m. in the Porter Wheat Building at the Conservation and Production Laboratory, operated by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service.

Tours and indoor presentations will run from 9 a.m. to 2:15 p.m., and include a lunch sponsored by the Texas Wheat Producers Board. Drinks and donuts will be provided throughout the day by Attebury Grain.

Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education credits will be offered for private pesticide applicators – one general and two integrated pest management – and five certified crop advisor units will be offered in nutrient management, soil and water management, integrated pest management, crop management and manure management.

Producers will be able to see historic, current and new varieties growing in the field, said Jackie Rudd, AgriLife Research wheat breeder in Amarillo. The two newest varieties highlighted are TAM 114, released because of its exceptional baking quality, and TAM 204, released as a dual

Guest speakers for the indoor portion of the field day will be Dr. Steve Amosson, AgriLife Extension economist in Amarillo, discussing “The Importance of Agriculture and Small Grains to the Texas High Plains,” and Dr. Joseph Awika, with Texas A&M’s Cereal Quality Laboratory in College Station, discussing “Wheat Quality – Importance, Measurements and Progress.”

The tours have been divided up to look at irrigated and dryland variety trials and breeding nurseries, rotational practices on terraces, plant pathology plots and irrigation management, and management for dual-purpose grazing/grain production.

For more information, contact Bell at 806-677-5600 or [email protected]; Xue at 806-354-5803, [email protected]; or Rudd, 806-677-5600, [email protected].