Cotton varieties, fertilizers tested |
||||||
By KARI KRAMER | East Texas Edition |
||||||
Sept. 8, 2005 - Crop Production Practicum students at Texas A&M University-Commerce (TAMU-C) are busy preparing for cotton harvest, with hopes that eventually their efforts will benefit producers in the area. The class requires students to prepare TAMU-C fields near Fairlie, for planting, create a production schedule, perform maintenance tasks, and apply all necessary fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides. In addition, students plant different varieties. Lonna Jochetz is in the class and said she found the project very demanding and time consuming. �The most difficult aspect of the project was being available to do the work that needed to be done as the crop progressed,� she said. The students spent several hours visiting their fields to scout for pests, and perform a variety of duties.
Pamela Bullard is a plant and soil sciences major in the class. “The work within the field is not necessarily difficult,” she said. “It’s the time it takes to complete the tasks.” Dr. Pat Bagley, department head of agriculture science at TAMU-C, said the class is one of the best learning tools the department offers, and TAMU-C is one of only three universities in the country to offer this type of crop production class. �Students are responsible for all aspects of preparing, planting, growing, insect and weed control, harvesting and selling a crop, such as cotton or wheat,� he said. �This experience ties together all aspects of courses they have had while at the university, and also gives them a tremendous amount of practical experience with equipment and machinery.� � � The students are taught by Dr. Don Reid, a retired TAMU-C professor who works part time teaching the class. The students also receive help from TAMU-C crop managers and Jim Swart, an entomologist with the university, Texas Cooperative Extension, and the Cereal Crops Research Institute (CCRI). The class is a cooperative project between CCRI and TAMU-C. CCRI provides the initial capital for the project, and student repay the input costs once they sell their crop. If a crop fails, CCRI absorbs the debt. ��Don Reid and Jim Swart deserve a tremendous amount of credit for fostering this program, which requires a tremendous amount of work and effort on their parts to get it accomplished,� said Bagley. �CCRI has also been a most valuable partner in developing this course, and we currently have other partners supporting the program, including Pilgrim�s Pride.�� For the last few years, arrangements have been made with Pilgrim’s Pride for poultry litter to be donated to the program. The purpose of the course is not only to help students gain a better understanding of crop production practices, but to test production methods that can be of use to the agricultural public. �These demonstrations (projects) are used for two purposes,� said Swart. �Providing �hands on� training for young people, and showing growers the best management practices to use on their farms. �We use the student projects in field days to show the growers our research recommendations on a larger scale.� The use of poultry litter is one of the variables being tested in the student plots. Some students used the litter, while others opted to use other means of fertilizing. Jochetz is not only a student but also a Master Composter and Master Gardener, and she said she appreciated what the chicken litter brought to the project. �I can�t recommend highly enough the advantage of getting organic matter worked back into the soil,� she said. �(Chicken litter) is a reasonably good source of organic matter that is easy to transport and apply, and generally, the price is right.� Poultry litter as a production aid helps the poultry industry alleviate litter stock, but some have questioned the effect of inconsistencies in the loads. Each load of poultry litter contains different amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N,P, and K). This fact requires that each load be tested to determine how it should be applied on specific fields. Tests at Auburn University suggest that fields already high in phosphorus pass on the use of chicken litter; a substance high in phosphorus. In Fairlie, soil conditions were adequate for testing poultry litter, and several students felt the material benefited their crop. �In comparing the student produced cotton, with the chicken litter, to much of the cotton produced in the surrounding area, the chicken litter appeared to have a positive affect on overall plant viability and crop production,� said Jochetz. �I would definitely like to use chicken litter again if given the option.� Josh Guin, another student, opted not to use the litter on his roundup ready field and said he has noticed his crop is doing well but has grown a little slower in comparison to the cotton in the littered fields. When the cotton is harvested, studies are expected to be done in order to determine the effect of the litter. Faith Henderson is an Integrated Pest Management intern with CCRI, is also a student in the crop production class. She took the class to gain hands-on experience in pest scouting, but has become interested in the research aspect of the projects. She also chose to use chicken litter in her fields, and is patiently waiting to compare her project with others. �As it turns out, my field and two others were planted on the same day, and will be an excellent study on the effectiveness of chicken litter on yields,� she noted. Students planted Roundup Ready varieties, and some tested new varieties. Henderson tested a new variety and planted Deltapine 444, a variety that contains a boll weevil guard gene. Despite the dry weather and hot conditions, the fields survived and students are looking forward to harvest. �I am extremely relieved that I have almost made it to the final product,� said Bullard on Aug. 26. �It�s not necessarily that I am glad the project is almost over, but you worry about the crop. Is it going to rain? When is it going to rain? Will I even have a crop?� Once the project is over, students will have their profits and some valuable experience. �These projects are beneficial to students because it gives us hands on experience with running several kinds of tractors, using sprayers, discs, planters, pickers, and cultivators, and to use them proficiently,� said Guin. �I couldn�t have learned this much in such a small amount of time anywhere but here. �So many times, universities teach strictly from a book, but with this program I could go to work for a farming operation today and have a distinct advantage over the competition in the job market.� Bagley seconded Guin’s comments and said employers appreciate having students who have been through the crop production practicum class. �We have had some prospective employers who specifically request students who have been through the crops practicum course because of the practical experience that it gives students,� said Bagley. While the students will enjoy the benefits the class provided, Reid and Swart will be sorting through the research details to make conclusions about the variables that were tested. Eventually, the time these students spent on their production and research projects, could benefit other producers in the area. �Producers can benefit from the tangible results of using a certain chemical for spraying,� said Henderson. �Farmers can see the success of our different seed varieties, and in turn, might consider using one of those varieties in their own production.� In the mean time, Reid and Swart are preparing for the their next group of students, who early this fall, will begin working the fields in preparation for winter wheat planting. |
Privacy Statement | © 2008, Echo Publishing Company
Problems with this page? Contact our site's administrator.
