Berry’s Picks

By Comanche Extension Agent Michael Berry on Wednesday, April 14, 2021
  • Berry’s Picks
    Berry’s Picks

Early Season Pecan Program

Comanche County is the number 2 county for pecan production in Texas and about number 4 in the U.S. With approximately 12,800 acres and over $16 million in nut sales in 2020, pecan production is vital to the economy in Comanche County.

To help support this vital industry the Comanche County Pecan Committee, County Extension office and agriculture sponsors will be offering a pecan production program. In support of pecan production in the county, the Comanche County AgriLife Extension office will be hosting the annual Early Season Pecan Production Program on Friday, April 16 at the DeLeon City Auditorium. Registration will start at 9:30 a.m. and the meeting will run from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m.

This year’s program will focus on ‘Maintaining and Improving Nut Quality” during tough times. We do have some excellent speakers covering topics that are of concern to Comanche County producers. Dr. Jake Mowrer, State Soil and Water Management Specialist will be covering “Soil and Leaf Tissue Sampling and Optimizing Nutrient Provision and Ratios”. Dr. Monte Nesbit, Texas A&M Pecan Specialist will be covering “Moderating Stress for Quality Nuts”. Dr. Bill Ree, retired State Pecan Specialist will be giving an “IPM Update”.

The program will offer 2 IPM CEU’s. There is no charge for the program and lunch will be provided by our great local sponsors. Please call the office to RSVP, 325-356-2539.

Small Grain Field Day

Small grain for forage production is one of the largest crops grown in Comanche County and the surrounding areas. While this year has not been typical, small grains are usually one of our more reliable crops, especially on dryland fields. For the last several years the Comanche County Agents office along with the Small Grain Specialist for Texas A&M Crop Sciences Department have conducted small grain research trials in the county. These trials include over 40 varieties of small grains including wheat, oats, rye, triticale, barley, and ryegrass, as well as some blends of grains.

Weather permitting, we will have a field day at the trial location on Friday, April 23 from 10 a.m. until 12:00 PM. The trials are located on County Road 322 between FM 1476 and Gustine ISD. This is an excellent opportunity to come and see all the varieties and species side-by-side. We will have the new small grain specialist Dr. Fernando Guillen Portal on-hand to talk about varieties and management. We will be offering 1 CEU at the program. If it looks like the weather is going to be bad you might call the office to be sure the date stays the same. This is an excellent opportunity to view many species and varieties of small grains side-by-side.