DATE: 8/8/2006

CONTACT: Dr. Steve Meadows, 803-284-3343, ext. 270; smdws@clemson.edu

WRITER: Tom Lollis, 803-284-3343, ext. 241; tlollis@clemson.edu

Fall Field Day set for Sept. 7 at Clemson’s Edisto REC

BLACKVILLE – The Sept. 7 Fall Field Day at Clemson University’s Edisto Research and Education Center will offer the latest research updates for producers of commodities ranging from beef to melons, row crops and vegetables.

Registration begins at 9 a.m. and the program at 9:30.

“At 10 o’clock producers will have a choice of field tours – beef cattle, peanuts or precision agriculture,” said Steve Meadows, Edisto REC resident director.

A catered lunch will be served at noon and at 1:15 p.m. the precision agriculture program will be repeated. Set for 1 p.m. are a tour of cotton and soybean research plots, a tour of watermelon and vegetable plots, and a tour of the Edisto Forage Bull Test plus the Edisto IPM beef herd.

“The cattle and forage program features several outstanding speakers,” said Meadows. Richard Watson, forage and grazing lands specialist with Mississippi State University, will talk about improving the quality of grazed pastures. Clemson University forages specialist John Andrae will tell how to manage cattle and pastures to minimize hay needs. John Irwin, Clemson Extension animal scientist, will discuss incorporating by-products into feeding systems.

Rounding out the morning beef program will be Kevin Campbell of the University of Florida Extension Service. He will discuss selecting and managing legumes for the Coastal Plain.

Peanut specialist Jay Chapin and research associate James Thomas will give producers a look at research plots. Topics will include: variety trials, including the search for a Virginia type peanut for South Carolina conditions; fungicide programs for white mold and late leaf spot; control treatments for thrips and spotted wilt; inoculants and additives; and digging date effects on runner and Virginia varieties. Clemson weed scientist Chris Main will discuss pre-emergence herbicide options.

The precision agriculture tour will include a field demonstration of the accuracy of four different automated tractor steering systems from Trimble and John Deere, according to Ahmad Khalilian, Clemson agricultural engineer. Brian Kelly of Ag Technologies and Patrick Dougherty of John Deere will discuss their systems.

Orangeburg County farmer Richard Phillips and Scott Monfort of the University of Georgia will discuss variable rate nematicide application systems for Temik and Telone II. Presentations on site-specific application of plant growth regulators and harvest aids in cotton will be made by Shuler Houck of CEH-Precision Crops, LLC and Thomas Brittle and Andy Strickland of Mid-South Ag Equipment.

Calvin Perry of the University of Georgia will talk about yield monitors for cotton and peanuts, plus variable-rate center pivot irrigation systems. Mike Sosebee of Chandler Equipment and Charles Ray Brown of Springfield Grain Company will talk about variable-rate application of crop nutrients.

The row-crop research tour opens with a look at seed treatments and in-furrow pesticides, presented by John Mueller, Clemson University nematologist, and Clemson entomologist Jeremy Greene.

Greene will also talk about important insects in cotton and soybeans. Chris Main will discuss resistance to glyphosate in Palmer amaranth. David Gunter, Extension agent in Darlington County, will talk about soybean variety testing.

Pawel Wiatrak, Clemson University agronomist, will discuss the influence of plant population on growth of soybean groups VI, VII and VIII. Emerson Shipe, Clemson University soybean breeder, will discuss his research.

Mueller will talk about soybean rust and Todd Campbell, USDA geneticist, will tell about cotton breeding and genetics research.

Gilbert Miller, Clemson Extension area vegetable specialist, will present final results of spring watermelon projects during the watermelon and vegetable tour. They include the seedless variety trial, the mini-watermelon variety trial, the seedless watermelon pollination trial and an analysis of hollow heart in watermelon.

Visitors will also hear about fall pumpkin varieties, a fall variety trials of seedless watermelons and mini-watermelons. A demonstration of the Jacto Air Assist sprayer is scheduled, as well as a test comparing Humble Acres Compost to commercial preplant fertilizer.

Powell Smith, Clemson Extension vegetable specialist, will discuss integrated pest management for collards, including “soft” chemistry insecticides. He will also discuss collard varieties and which ones insects like and dislike.

Afternoon tours will wind up around 3:30 to 3:45.

Edisto REC is in Barnwell County, three miles west of Blackville on U.S. Highway 78.

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