Farm/Ranch
East texas fruit, vegetable conference feb. 18 at tyler rose garden
By TAMU
Feb 7, 2003

TYLER – Don't count your peaches before the peach tree blooms, says a horticulturist with Texas Cooperative Extension.

At first glance, the recent cold snaps spell success for East Texas growers of apples, peaches, plums and blackberries. But the cold snaps have been interrupted by days of unexpected sunshine.

"With the unseasonably warm weather in December and early January, it's possible to have negative chilling hours, and this could offset the good cumulative totals we're seeing so far," said Dr. Marty Baker, Extension horticulturist and one of the scheduled speakers at the upcoming East Texas Fruit and Vegetable Conference, set Feb. 18 at the Tyler Rose Garden Center.

Baker, who will speak about how the weather affected the 2002 crop year, is one of the 12 speakers scheduled at the conference.

To produce healthy blooms and set fruit, fruits such as peaches need a certain number of hours of temperatures in the range of 32 to 45 degrees. These hours are called "chilling hours."

Chilling hours cause the fruit plant or tree to go through hormonal changes that lead it to come out of dormancy and start producing complete flowers and leaves. Different fruits have different needs when it comes to chilling hours.

As of Jan. 13, there were from 554 to 616 chilling hours for the 2002-2003 season, according to the automated weather station at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Overton. (See http://overton.tamu.edu/Wx/chill.htm)

Still, taking into consideration all the warm days, it's a bit too early to preach doom or victory for East Texas fruit growers, Baker cautioned. Just how chilling hours are calculated is a controversial subject, but by the time of the conference, horticulturists such as Baker will have a better chance of predicting the outcome of this year's warm winter in terms of fruit production.

Most fruits in the Tyler and Pittsburg areas need 750 to 850 chilling hours. If indeed the chilling hours are calculated to be insufficient, Baker will outline cultural practices that could offset the damage when he gives his presentation at the conference.

Other morning speakers at the Feb. 18 conference will talk about saving money with integrated pest management techniques, on-farm food safety in horticulture, starting up organic farming, budget and planning for horticultural crops, and the Go-Texan Marketing program designed by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

After a lunch break, there will be two afternoon breakout sessions, one on fruits and one on vegetables.

Included in the fruit breakout session will be presentations on insect and disease control updates by Dr. James Robinson, Extension entomologist, and Dr. George Philley, Extension plant pathologist. Also included will be a primer on peach orchard site selection and establishment by Dr. Charles Graham, with the Calhoun Research Station in Calhoun, La., and a talk on pears, plums and persimmons by Baker.

Included in the vegetable breakout session will be information on hoop houses by Steven Upson, horticulturist with the Samuel Roberts Nobel Foundation of Ardmore, Okla. Other presentations will give information on cool-season crops adapted to East Texas conditions and vegetable insect and disease updates.

Attendees who hold pesticide applicator licenses from the Texas Department of Agriculture will be eligible for two continuing education units (CEUs), one on Integrated Pest Management and regulations and one in the general category.

Registration for the conference will be $15 at the door, which covers the cost of a lunch and break refreshments.

Registration for the conference will begin at 8 a.m. The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. and adjourn at 3:15 p.m.

The Rose Garden Center is located at 420 S. Rose Park Dr., just off W. Front St. (As Hwy. 31. passes through Tyler, it becomes Front St.)

Those wishing more information should contact Brian Triplett or Keith Hansen, both Smith County Extension agents at (903) 535-0885.