Page 14—Ag Progress Section 2, Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, August 15, 1998 More Than 500 Research Plots At Ohio Horticulture Field Night HILLSBORO, Ohio Have you ever seen an heirloom toma to or a virus-resistant pumpkin? These are the latest in specialty crops making their niche in Ohio agriculture, and they will be on display at Horticulture Field Night, Monday, Aug. 17, 6 p.m. to dark. Horticulture Field Night will be held at the main campus of the Southern State Community College, 200 Hobart Drive, Rt. 62 north of Hillsboro. More than 500 fruit and vegetable research and demonstration plots and 15 different research projects will be on display Brad Bergefurd, horticultural agent for Ohio State University Extension at the Enterprise Center for Economic Develop ment, said current growers or those considering growing and marketing specialty vegetable crops should attend the event “If you’re a farmer looking for ways to diversify your current farming operation, Horticulture Field Night will be beneficial.” Bergefurd said the highlight of Field Night is usually the wagon tour Visitors are carried through field where more than 500 fruit and vegetable research and demonstration plots can be viewed Several state and regional Ohio State specialists will be on hand to update grow ers on current problems, new techniques and research pro jects that will impact their oper ations Growers may ask ques tions or advice for problems they are currently experiencing on their own operations Visitors will also receive information and watch a video of the new, one-of-a-kind, mechani cal pepper harvester for process ing peppers. The equipment was designed and is currently used in Texas pepper fields. The machine’s manufacturer will be available for a question/answer session via a group conference call. Bergefurd is in the process of arranging a growers’ tour to view the machine in operation at its Texas location. Another feature of Horticulture Field Night is the TOM-CAST disease forecasting system. It’s used to track weather conditions that may cause fungal disease development in Ohio’s tomato crop. The Hillsboro site was one of the first places in Ohio to test this system on fresh market tomatoes about four years ago. The system allows for reduced fungicide use, residues and can lower production coSts for toma to growers How? By following weather conditions, farmers know exactly when to apply nec essary fungicides, reducing excess usage. “The CR-10 is a computerized system which monitors leaf wet ness and temperature within the field,” Bergefurd said “These reading are then calcu lated to come up with a Disease Severity Value (DSV) threshold Growers use this information to determine when to apply fungi cide applications to their tomato crop ” The CR-10 is being compared to a system called Skybit. It uses satellite technology to gather the same information as the CR -10 units “We’re currently com paring these systems, because if they are similar in their results, a grower could subscribe to the Skybit system on a season basis,” Bergefurd said. Growers who wish to purchase CR-10 units may spend several thou sand dollars, according to Bergefurd. Visitors at the event will see bacterial spot-resistant pepper evaluations, ornamental corn germplasm plots, oriental crops production and marketing ideas, red and green cabbage evalua tions, watermelon and eastern Producers Strive To Identify Predictable Genetics SUNRISE BEACH, Mo. - Regardless of the breed of cattle, all producers strive to produce the best beef product possible. A group of Angus producers from throughout the United States have joined together forming the Angus Sire Alliance, which uses every tool available, including ultrasound data, to help identify the most profitable and predictable genes in the Angus breed. Angus Sire Alliance members submit one bull to participate. The sire is then bred to 100 com Voucher for early order savings on any Asgrow, Seedway or Seneca hybrid seed corn (no blends), any alfalfa or Seedway premium forage mix and Sprint™, Premium Pea-Kal® and Asgrow soybeans. Grower name: Street address: City: Phone: # seed corn units: # forage seed units I mixes: # Sprint, Premium Pea-Kal: # Asgrow soybean units: Grower signature Date muskmelon cultivar trials, and pumpkin disease prevention techniques. There will also be Internet and Web page demon strations. Bergefurd said a new line of specialty crop equipment will be on display as well. Visitors will see a newly constructed sprayer used for staked tomatoes, a plas- mercial Angus cows through artificial insemination and nat ural exposure. Data is then col lected on the steer progeny when they reach 14-15 months of age. This data will be used in determining the top sire. The first set of Sire Alliance steers, which consisted of 700 steers sired by 20 bulls, went to the feedlot on Jan. 20 with pro jected slaughter dates in late April or early May. "Four to six weeks before the projected slaughter dates, ultra- Ag Progress Days Special.... 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