(Info adapted from TX A&M events posting)

A Summer Crops/​Ogallala Aquifer Program Center Pivot Irrigation Field Day will be hosted by Texas A&M AgriLife and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-​Agricultural Research Service Aug. 9 at the Conservation and Production Research Laboratory in Bushland, TX.

The event is free and will begin at 8 a.m. with registration in Texas A&M AgriLife Research’s new equipment storage barn. Attendees should come to the research farm, located 1 mile west of Bushland on the south side of Interstate 40, where there will be further directions to the event site. Following a welcome, buses will load at 8:45 a.m. for the morning tours.

Tour stop topics will include:

– Advanced center pivot control system with integrated inputs, Thomas Marek, AgriLife Research agricultural engineer, Amarillo.

– Multi-​level evapotranspiration or ET production function research with three field crops, Xue.

– Soil sensor comparisons under different irrigation levels, Marek.

– Site-​specific irrigation scheduling with sensor feedback, Dr. Susan O’Shaughnessy, USDA-​ARS agricultural engineer-​irrigation automation, Bushland.

– Sprinkler design and nozzle maintenance, Dr. Danny Rogers, KSU Extension agricultural engineer, Manhattan, Kansas.

– Impact of zebra chip disease on crop water-​use efficiency in potatoes, Jordan Trees, AgriLife Research graduate student, Amarillo.

– Turfgrass irrigation practices: Making every drop count, Dr. Gary Marek, USDA-​ARS agricultural engineer.

– Overview of vegetable research goals for High Plains producers, Dr. Charlie Rush, AgriLife Research plant pathologist, Amarillo.

– Optimizing water use in vegetable production systems, Dr. Paul Colaizzi, USDA-​ARS research agricultural engineer, Bushland.

– Plant physiological measurements to optimize water use in vegetables, Dr. Tony Rho, AgriLife Research postdoctoral research associate, Amarillo.

– Pest management in vegetable production systems, Dr. Ada Szczepaniec, AgriLife Research entomologist, Amarillo.

– Mobile drip irrigation performance, Dr. Jonathan Aguilar, KSU Extension water resource engineer, Garden City, Kansas.

– Applications of variable rate irrigation technology, Dr. Freddie Lamm, KSU research irrigation engineer, Colby, Kansas, and Dr. Dana Porter, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program leader for engineering, Lubbock.

The lunch program will feature a “History of Sprinkler Irrigation on the Texas High Plains” presentation by Jim Bordovsky, AgriLife Research senior research scientist and engineer, Lubbock/​Halfway.

Following lunch, a special session for future vegetable growers will take place at the USDA-​ARS facilities.