The NDSU Carrington Research Extension Center annual field day
is planned for Tuesday, July 14. The event will provide
participants with the choice of attending livestock, fruit or
crop tours in the morning and a second crop tour in the
afternoon.
Two crop tours will be conducted for participants to view
research trials and receive production information. Crop variety
performance, crop and soil management and opportunities for
growing selected alternative crops will be highlighted.
The morning tour will begin at 9:30 a.m. and will include a
review of spring wheat, barley and dry bean cultivars by NDSU
plant breeders Mohamed Mergoum, Richard Horsley and Juan Osorno.
Also, NDSU agronomists Joel Ransom, Greg Endres and Burton
Johnson will highlight corn, soybean and alternative crop
production issues. In addition, John Nowatzki, NDSU Extension
agricultural engineer, will give a corn planter demonstration
that shows corn stands resulting from several different industry
planters and the speed of planter operations.
Following a noon lunch, tour participants can attend a second
crop tour that will start at 1 p.m. Marcia McMullen and Sam
Markell, NDSU Extension plant pathologists, will review
small-grain disease management strategies and the threat of row
crop diseases this season. Richard Zollinger and Kirk Howatt,
NDSU weed scientists, will discuss this season's weed management
challenges and issues.
During the afternoon tour, Ezra Aberle, Endres, Paul Hendrickson,
Yvonne Lawley and Ron Wiederholt, Carrington center agronomists,
will highlight research on strip tillage, plant nutrition, cover
crops and perennial grasses for cellulosic biofuels.
Two stations also will be available for participants to provide
samples for water quality testing or crop pest diagnosis. Farmers
are encouraged to bring water and plant samples for examination
by Roxanne Johnson, NDSU Extension water quality associate, and
Kasia Kinzer, NDSU Extension plant pest diagnostician.
For more information, contact the Carrington Research Extension
Center at (701) 652-2951 or go to
www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/carringt.