Food in Texas. People connected to any phase of that industry - from growers to shippers to processors - are encouraged to attend the third annual Advanced Horticulture Food Crops Symposium here.

Sponsored by Texas Cooperative Extension's Horticulture Food Crops Group, the event will be September 29 - October 1 in Rudder Tower on the Texas A&M University campus. Registration is $130 prior to Sept. 15 or $140 thereafter.

"The face of agriculture is rapidly changing. The way crops are produced and marketed is becoming more competitive as market windows shrink and competition increases," said Dr. Frank Dainello, Extension commercial vegetable crops specialist and co-organizer of the event. "If producers are to remain competitive and profitable in today's agricultural climate, the need to minimize input expense while maximizing profits is more important now than ever."

The symposium is a medium to provide in-depth information on a range of topics impacting plant growth, yield, quality and profitability of production, he said.

Featured speaker will be Dr. Blaine Hanson, irrigation engineer at the University of California-Davis. He will discuss design and management of drip irrigation systems and managing water, salts and fertilizers with such systems.

The speakers and topics on opening day, Sept. 29, include: Dr. Mark McFarland, Extension agronomist, nitrogen sources; Dr. Sam Feagley, Extension soil specialist, soil physics; Dr. Russ Wallace, Extension vegetable specialist-Lubbock, herbicides; and Dr. Mark Black, Extension plant pathologist, disease control.

On Sept 30, speakers and topics include: Dr. Joe Pena, Extension economist in Uvalde, why small farms fail; Dr. George McEachern, Extension horticulturist, root-soil-water interactions; Dr. Dave Reed, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station horticulture researcher, hormone growth regulators; Dr. Al Wagner, Extension food technologist, food safety; and Dr. Don Renchie, Extension agriculture and environmental safety specialist, laws and regulations.

Also, Dr. Leonard Pike, Experiment Station's Vegetable and Fruit Improvement Center director, breeding for health benefits; and Dr. Dan Lineberger, Texas A&M horticulture professor, the Internet as a management and marketing tool.

The final day, Oct. 1, will include talks by Jim Kamas, Extension horticulturist-Gillespie County, peaches; Dr. Ed Hellman, Extension viticulturist-Lubbock, grapes; Dr. Larry Stein, Extension horticulturist-Uvalde, apples and pears, and fertilizer application techniques for vegetables; Dr. Juan Anciso, Extension vegetable specialist-Weslaco, integrated pest management; Wallace, vegetable herbicides; and Dainello, vegetable crop water use.