Overton, Texas
June 10, 2009
For the first time in many years,
the 2009 Overton Horticultural Field Day will include vegetable
trials, not just flowers.
That’s not to say there won’t be plenty of flowers at the field
day, set June 25 near Overton, said Dr. Brent Pemberton,
Texas AgriLife
Research horticulturist.
Each year, the field day features the East Texas bedding plant
performance trials which Pemberton oversees.
Though begun primarily to serve the bedding plant industry, the
trial's thousands of square feet of plots planted with purple,
pink, red and white flowers have become popular with regional
gardeners and industry representatives.
"We have close to 500 varieties this year, and that includes
over 80 varieties in the container trials," said Pemberton, who
began the field day in 1994 to serve nursery growers, greenhouse
managers and gardening enthusiasts.
Dr. Karl Steddom, Texas AgriLife Extension Service plant
pathologist, will discuss the vegetable trials, which will
include tests on controlling nematodes on tomatoes, powdery
mildew on pumpkins and southern blight on tomatoes.
This year, there will be a continuing emphasis on vinca,
including two new series that are resistant to aerial
phytophthora, a serious landscape problem with this crop all
across the South.
“The disease-resistant vinca are quite revolutionary for the
industry,” Pemberton said.
The new vinca are the Cora and Nirvana series. A large selection
of colors from both series will be on display. These plants have
been designated as Texas Superstar selections this year.
“In addition, there will be excellent displays of geranium,
trailing petunias, verbena, lantana and lobelia,” Pemberton
said.
Steddom is testing two new commercial products to control
nematodes on tomatoes. The tests are important to growers
because all of the older, tried and proven products are up for
re-registration by the EPA, he said.
“We’ve already lost one of the older products, and we’ll likely
lose the others within the year,” he said. “I’ll be testing one
newer product that’s already registered and another that should
be registered soon.”
Although it’s not included in his trials, Steddom said he will
discuss a biological control for nematodes on tomatoes.
“It’s a fungus that you incorporate in the soil prior to
planting and then reapply a couple of times through your drip
irrigation system,” he said. “I wouldn’t recommend it to large
commercial growers, but if you’re an organic grower it’s about
the only option available to you besides growing resistant
varieties.”
Steddom will also be testing control of black spot on roses with
fungicides.
“There will also be a rose-disease resistance trial displaying
several new varieties grown with no spraying,” Pemberton said.
The field day will begin at 8:30 a.m. at the Texas AgriLife
Research and Extension Center at Overton’s North Farm site. The
tour will continue at the site until about 10:30 a.m., then move
to the Overton Center's headquarters building, where a
demonstration garden is located. Lunch will be served at about
11:30 a.m.
After lunch, the program will move inside with a presentation by
Pemberton and Jimmy Turner of the Dallas Arboretum on the 2009
California Spring Showcase, also known as Pack Trials.
“We also coordinate trial results with the Dallas Arboretum,"
Pemberton said. "Over 5 million consumers in the northeast Texas
region now have the opportunity to see how promising new plants
from all over the world perform in our climate."
The program will conclude by 2:30 p.m.
Pemberton began trials of bedding plants at the Overton center
to serve the commercial greenhouse and bedding plant industry.
According to him, in recent years, the industry has had a $500
million annual economic impact on the region.
Before Pemberton began his trials, there were few if any tests
under East Texas conditions of the many new varieties released
by seed companies each year, he said.
Registration is free and includes lunch. The center is located 1
mile north of downtown Overton on State Highway 3053.
Coming from south of Overton, take State Highway 135 into town.
At Overton's single red stop light, take a left, go across the
railroad tracks and turn right immediately after the
Brookshire's Supermarket.
The North Farm site is about 4 miles north of the center on Hwy.
3053. For an online map, go to
http://overton.tamu.edu/flowers/fieldday.htm . |
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