Farm Facts for Fairfield County
Farm Facts for Fairfield County
for June 6, 2003 ; also seen on Fridays in the Lancaster Eagle Gazette
The Ohio State University South Centers at Piketon invites anyone interested in growing strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and/or red and black raspberries to attend a Berry Twilight Meeting at their Research and Extension Centers on Monday June 9 from 5:00pm to 8:00 pm. "This is an important educational event for anyone that grows or wants to grow a berry crop for farm profit", says Brad Bergefurd, Horticulture Extension Agent at the OSU South Centers in Piketon. "We have been conducting very extensive research and demonstration berry trials at this location for 11 years and have some fascinating results that we would like to share with growers that may help them become more profitable berry growers ", says Bergefurd.
Currently there are 18 different research and demonstration trials, over 300 different research plots, on berries being conducted by the staff of the OSU South Centers. These include over 600 summer and fall red raspberry plants, over 250 thorny blackberry plants and over 150 thornless blackberry plants. These include some new genetic material imported from China and made available to OSU through Dr. Harry Schwartz from the University of Maryland. "We are looking at these new varieties for yield, hardiness and disease resistance", says Dr. Shawn Wright, Horticulture Specialist at the OSU South Centers. "As the berry industry grows in Ohio, it is critical to have producers growing those varieties that will perform well and stay in production for a high number of years", says Wright.
Other berry trials being conducted by the Ohio State University South Centers include a Black Raspberry Variety Study, a Black Raspberry Alternate Year Production and Pruning Study, a Blueberry Water and Nitrogen Management Study, Plasticulture Strawberry Winter Protection Study and a Plasticulture Strawberry Date of Planting Study to name a few.
In addition to tours and updates of the berry research trials Dr. Dick Funt, The Ohio State University Small Fruits Specialist and Dr. Mike Ellis, The Ohio State University Small Fruit Disease Specialist will provide updates on new herbicides for Strawberries, the use of plastic on strawberries for weed control in Eastern cultivars, strawberry renovation procedures and disease control tactics for small fruit.
Sandy Kuhn, Berry Coordinator at the OSU South Centers, will provide an update on the many exciting opportunities that are occurring in the Ohio Berry Industry. "The OSU South Centers staff is committed to help the berry industry in Ohio to grow and flourish" says Sandy. "Ohio has the potential to grow over 5 to 10 times the current production, therefore as farmers consider alternative crops, berries seem to be a very viable option", says Kuhn.
Several companies from the small fruit industry, including irrigation, fertilizer and plant suppliers have also been invited to provide updates on what new items are available to berry growers.
The Berry Twilight meeting is free and open to everyone. The meeting will be held at the OSU South Centers, 1864 Shyville Road in Piketon Ohio. Tours of the field research trials will be from 5:00 to 7:00 pm with times for questions of industry specialists and supper being served from 7:00 pm to 8:00pm.
For more information on the Berry Twilight meeting or any of the Berry Research trials being conducted at the OSU South Centers please contact our office at, (740) 289-2071, 1-800-297-2072 or visit our web site at www.southcenters.osu.edu.
International Agriculture Expert Robert Havener to Speak at OARDC by Mauricio Espinoza, OSU News and Media
Robert Havener, whose leadership role in international agricultural organizations during the 1960s and '70s was instrumental in the green revolution, will speak about agricultural and environmental sustainability at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center's (OARDC) Wooster campus June 10 from 11 a.m. to noon.
Free and open to the public, the lecture, "Living in Interesting Times," will be held in the center's Fisher Auditorium, 1680 Madison Ave.
"Bob Havener is one of a small number of people in the science community who can look at what they have done in their career and truly know that they have had a profound impact, for the better, on humankind," said OARDC Director Steve Slack.
A native of Summerfield, Ohio, Havener was an Ohio Cooperative Extension Service (now called Ohio State University Extension) agent in Licking County and a county manager for the Ohio Farm Bureau Cooperatives.
In 1966, Havener joined the Ford Foundation's agricultural programs and became the only individual who has served as director general of five international agricultural research centers -- the Agricultural Development Program in Pakistan (1966-71), the Arid Lands Agricultural Development Programs in Lebanon (1972-76), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center in Mexico (1978-85), the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia (1994-95), and the International Rice Research Institute in the Philippines (1998-99).
Havener's visionary leadership at these institutions created conducive environments in which scientific ideas and development programs that led to increased food production in the world flourished. Today, he is one of the most influential people in the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) and continues to have an impact on policy and programs designed to fight world hunger.
Havener has also addressed the issue of integrating livestock with food crops in an effort to improve nutrition at the household level, especially in developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. This concept, he claims, will raise household income and lead to more sustainable and environmentally friendly agricultural production systems.
Corn Yellowing Concerns by Peter Thomison, OSU Extension Specialist
Cloudy, cool, rainy weather has slowed growth of early planted corn. Corn seedlings often turn yellow (due to low nitrogen uptake and/or limited chlorophyll synthesis) or purple (reduced root development) under cool, wet conditions. Some hybrids are more likely to increase anthocyanin (purple pigment) content when plants are cool. Yellowing or purpling of corn plants at this stage of development generally has little or no effect on later crop performance or yield potential. If it's induced by environmental conditions, the yellow or purple appearance should change to a healthy green after a few sunny days with temperatures above 70 degrees F. If plants remain yellow then closer inspection and assessment is needed to determine if yellowing is caused by nutrient deficiency or some other factor. Given our weather conditions this year a nitrogen deficiency is most likely responsible for leaf yellowing.
For a listing of upcoming programs, meetings and events, visit the AG CALENDAR
Farms Facts is a weekly newspaper column, written by the agriculture staff at the Ohio State University Extension office in
Fairfield County.
All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.
Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.
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