IN THIS ISSUE: Pepper Field Day and More! It's Been One of Those Seasons Getting Started on the Web Scientific Irrigation Scheduling Using PET |
There will be a pepper field day at the Texas A&M Research and Extension Center in Weslaco on June 19, 1997, from 9:00 A.M.- 12:00 noon. The field day is located on the main center and will begin at the pepper breeding field plots. In addition, a southern pea trial and a tomato trial will also be available for observation by the public. Activities will include observation of advanced pepper breeding lines in field plots, greenhouses, selfed seed production and isolation blocks of near cultivar lines. The southern pea variety trial is located on the station annex and the tomato trial features advanced tomato breeding lines from Paul Leeper's tomato breeding program. All growers, seedsmen, and other interested individuals are invited to attend. If you have any questions, call David Wolff (968-5585), Lynn Branderberger (968-5581) or Brad Abrameit (383-1026).
It's Been One of Those Seasons: Lynn Brandenberger
This spring season has been a tough one on the entire vegetable industry here in South Texas. What with bolting and rotting onions, planting delays and fruit rots on cantaloupes, growers have been hard put to find any thing to be optimistic about. I've noticed that many folks use the same survival technique which involves looking forward and planning on the future rather than dwelling on past problems, but before we shift into the future let's review what occurred this spring.
If there is one thing that can be counted upon, it's that weather in the L.R.G.V. is unpredictable. March and April this season were wet and cool with very little sunshine. These weather conditions were ideal for the development of the different plant pathogens that gave us trouble on both the onion and melon crops. Onion crops were severely affected by both foliar pathogens (purple blotch & downy mildew) and later during harvest with soft rot of the bulbs. Unfortunately, it was very difficult to get into fields to spray preventative fungicides and quite a loss was incurred as a result.
Based on extensive culturing of diseased fruit sampled throughout the L.R.G.V. Tom Isakeit, Marvin Miller and Benny Bruton identified gummy stem blight as affecting a majority of the cantaloupe. This disease affected both the crown of the plant, as we would expect and also the fruit, which is quite unusual. Tests run on the many samples that were gathered indicate that a majority of the isolates of this particular fungus are resistant to control by benomyl fungicide. Plans are in the works to apply for section 18 exemptions for several fungicides that show promise for the control of gummy stem blight on melons in the near future.
Getting Started on the Web: Brad Abrameit
If you're not yet signed up with an Internet provider, then here are a few tips to help get started. You can expect to pay between 17 and 35 dollars per month for unlimited Internet service, which includes e-mail. Costs may increase with extra services in addition to the basic browsing and e-mail service. Some network providers offer weekly meetings for help with their system as well as periodic seminars. No matter which service provider you choose, you will always have the same access to the same general information as anyone else, you will just have to go about retrieving it a different way. Some companies offer cheaper rates, but will charge you additionally for each hour of usage after a certain base amount of hours has been exhausted. For those who only use e-mail, this might be the best option. However, for those who want to "surf" the net on a regular basis, unlimited access is probably the best plan for you.
Since service is provided over the phone lines, you will need to check with each provider to see if a local phone number is available for your area. If it is not, the phone bill will add up quickly. Some providers do offer an 800 number for connecting, but usually the monthly fee is higher.
The necessary software for browsing the web and sending e-mail is included with your subscription to a provider. Microsoft Windows operating systems allow the most options for network usage. Most software today is configured for Windows 95. You can buy other software packages to enhance your web browsing capabilities, but the free stuff is more than adequate in my opinion. In addition, there are several web sites which let you download free software. To look for these sites, do a keyword search for "shareware".
Scientific Irrigation Scheduling Using PET: Guy Fipps
The age-old questions: When to irrigate and how much water to apply, are now much easier to answer thanks to PET. PET stands for potential evapotranspiration and is becoming widely available in Texas. Irrigators will be hearing a lot about PET in the coming years, so if you don't know this word now, you soon will! Computers and weather stations now make it easy for us to use PET for daily decisions on irrigation. One source for information is the Texas PET Web Site (http://www.agen.tamu.edu/pet) which contains PET and weather data from several locations in Central and South Texas.
Evapotranspiration (ET) is a measure of the total water requirements of crops and is usually determined on a day by day basis. Agricultural scientists have devised a reference ET rate based on a reference crop from which we can determine the actual water requirements of all other crops. The water requirements of individual crops are determined from the PET through crop coefficients for a particular crop. These crop coefficients vary depending on the stage of growth of the crop because of the different amounts of water used by the crop in different growth stages.
In addition to daily PET, the Texas PET Web Site contains a wealth of information on how to use PET for irrigation scheduling. A Calculator option takes you step-by-step through the process of locating PET, selecting the proper crop coefficient and making adjustments due to the efficiency of your irrigation system. The Web Site also reports rainfall, temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed from 10 stations around the state.
Some County Extension Agents and water districts will be distributing PET data locally for persons without Internet access. A PET Grower's Guide is also available from County Extension Agents.
Lynn Brandenberger/Editor
The information given herein is for educational purposes only. References to commercial products or trade names are made with the understanding that no discrimination is intended and no endorsement by the Cooperative Extension Service is implied.