The annual dryland agronomy and horticulture field day at North Dakota State University's Williston Research Extension Center will be held Thursday, July 14.
The center is 4.5 miles west of Williston on U.S. Highway 2. The event begins with coffee and rolls at 8:30 a.m. CDT.
An irrigation field day will be held on Friday, July 15, at the NDSU Irrigated Nesson Research and Development Farm, which is 23 miles east of Williston on North Dakota Highway 1804. Refreshments will be served starting at 8:30 a.m., and the irrigated crop tour will begin at 9 a.m.
The dryland crops tour on July 14 starts at 9 a.m. and will feature NDSU researchers and Extension specialists, who will highlight their work on:
* The relationship among crop rotations, diseases and beneficial soil organisms.
ADVERTISEMENT
* Weed control in small grains.
* Crop rotations for improving soil health.
* Crop rotations/soil amendments for reclamation of cropland impacted by pipeline installation.
* Nozzle size selection for drift reduction.
* Cereal and broadleaf crop variety testing at the center.
* NDSU barley for western North Dakota.
The horticulture program also starts at 9 a.m. July 14 in the Williston Research Extension Center's Ernie French Center for those interested in flowers, gardening and fruit production.
Tom Kalb, an NDSU Extension horticulturalist, will give a presentation titled "Five Steps to a Great Lawn." A question-and-answer session on lawns, vegetables and flowers will follow that. Also, Kyla Splichal, a research specialist at the Williston Research Extension Center, will speak about the All-America Selections Display garden.
ADVERTISEMENT
A traditional barbecue chicken luncheon sponsored by area businesses will be served at noon.
A new event, "Stump the Plant Doctor," will be held during the lunch hour. Guests are encouraged to bring plants, leaves, branches or other plant or tree parts that are damaged, diseased or need identification to see if Williston Research Extension Center staff can identify the problem or plant.
The afternoon session will focus on pulse crops. Topics include:
* Production and contracting of peas, lentils, faba beans and cowpeas.
* Past and future of legume production in the MonDak region (eastern Montana and western North Dakota).
* Weed control in pulse crops.
* Pulse crop diseases.
* An introduction to the new pulse crop scouting program for western North Dakota.
ADVERTISEMENT
The afternoon session will end with an industry panel discussing the market outlook for pulse crops.
Following the field day on July 14, Williston Economic Development, the Williston Regional Economic Development Corporation and McCody Concrete are hosting the Williston Chamber of Commerce Business After-Hours event from 5 to 7 p.m. The reception will be held at McCody Concrete, 14021 Highway 2, Williston, and is open to field day participants.
During the irrigation field day on July 15, NDSU research and Extension specialists will discuss:
* Highlights from experiments conducted at the Nesson Valley site.
* Irrigation research at the Williston Research Extension Center and information on variety trials conducted under irrigation.
* Irrigation uniformity.
* Tips for identifying plant injury from spray.
* High-tunnel vegetable production.
ADVERTISEMENT
* Fruit fly research.
* Potato production and low glycemic potatoes.
* Irrigated cropping systems research conducted by U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists from the Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory, Sidney, Mont.
The irrigated field day will conclude with a noon luncheon sponsored by area businesses.
For more information on any of the field day events, call the center at (701) 774-4315.
