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Published on 08/31/16

UGA Cotton, Peanut Research Field Day to be held Sept. 7

By Kyle Dawson

The annual University of Georgia Cotton and Peanut Research Field Day will be held Wednesday, Sept. 7, at the UGA Tifton Campus.

The field day will begin at the Gibbs Farm, a research station on William Gibbs Road in Tifton, Georgia, at 8 a.m. and will conclude at the Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village.

Jared Whitaker, UGA Cooperative Extension cotton agronomist, credits the field day as being a great way for farmers and industry personnel to learn about recent developments in UGA research regarding two of Georgia’s top commodities.

“The cotton and peanut teams share information on what’s happening in the industry. We provide everybody an opportunity to come together and see the research that UGA is working on,” Whitaker said.

The field day consists of talks given by members of the UGA Cotton and Peanut teams, a tour of the Gibbs Farm, research presentations and lunch, when members of the Georgia Cotton Commission and Georgia Peanut Commission will provide closing remarks.

Some of the topics to be covered include plant breeding, agronomy, entomology, pathology, fertility and irrigation. Whitaker said any farmer or industry consultant is invited to the field day.

“A tremendous number of topics and ideas will be covered and shared, so there’s probably something for everybody in the peanut and cotton industries and also for those who just want to learn about what’s going on with cotton and peanut research at UGA in Tifton,” Whitaker said.

Scott Monfort, UGA Extension peanut agronomist, said most of Georgia’s peanuts are doing well this year despite prolonged periods of drought this summer.

“The irrigated crop looks pretty good, and I think we’ll be a little bit above average there,” Monfort said. “As for the nonirrigated crop, it is struggling due to a lack of rain and extreme temperatures. We are remaining hopeful that non-irrigated peanuts will bounce back, allowing Georgia growers to produce a good crop."

To reserve a space at the field day and for more information, contact Michela Rineair at 229-386-3006 or at msrineair@uga.edu by Friday, Sept. 2.

(Kyle Dawson is an intern on the UGA Tifton Campus.)

Kyle Dawson is an intern on the UGA Tifton Campus.