A Field Day for fruit and vegetable growers will be held on July 12, 2017 at Penn State’s Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, Pennsylvania. Growers will have the opportunity to see what’s happening with the numerous vegetable and fruit research trials being conducted at the Center.

This event is being sponsored jointly by Penn State University’s College of Agricultural Sciences and the Pennsylvania Vegetable Growers Association. The program will begin at the Horticulture Research Farm located 11 miles west of State College at Gate H on Route 45, just east of the Ag Progress Days site.  Projects located on the Horticulture, Plant Pathology, Entomology and Agronomy Research Farms will be discussed.

Registration and refreshments will begin at 8:00 in the morning.  At 9:00 there will be a drone demonstration followed by tours of vegetable and small fruit research plots from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m..  The following projects will be discussed:

  • – Weed management in processing tomatoes and sweet corn
  • – Allium leafminer monitoring
  • – Cantaloupe and pepper establishment
  • – Hops
  • – Tomato breeding
  • – Product efficacy trials for vegetable disease management
  • – Sweet potato size management and butternut squash storage
  • – Low tunnel strawberry production
  • – High tunnel strawberry and raspberry production
  • – Cover crops for vegetable production
  • – Pumpkin variety evaluation
  •  -Wine grapes research trials
  •   And more!!

12:30  Lunch – A hearty sandwich accompanied by side dishes, beverage and dessert will be provided.

1:30 – 3:30 p.m.   Breakout sessions

Track 1: Tree Fruit research trials

  •   Apple rootstock trials
  •    Apple training system trials
  •    Bio-renovation of orchard site
  •    Weed control in apples
  •     Apple cultivars
  •     Root growth studies
  •     Causal factors of bitter pit in apple
  •      Asian pear cultivars
  •      Use of DrapeNets for preventing hail damage and to modify canopy growth

Track 2: High Tunnels

  •        Choosing a plastic covering
  •        High tunnel venting and design options
  •        Berry production in containers

Track 3: Hands-on Vegetable Pest and Disease Identification

3:30 – 4:00   Optional:  Sprayer calibration demo qualifying for a pesticide applicator core re-certification credit

4:00 p.m.    Adjourn

The registration fee for the Field Day is $20 for adults ($10 for children 3 to 10, children under 3 are free) if registered by July 10.  After July 10, the late registration fee will be $30 for adults ($15 for children).  Registration includes lunch, drinks and snacks.  Call 717-694-3596 or email pvga@pvga.org to register.  Walk-in registrations are welcome.