PEACHLAND — Farmers and researchers will gather next Tuesday to look over wheat research plots planted to test various seeds at the Lower Piedmont Small Grains Field Day.
Jessica Morgan, an agriculture agent with the Anson County Cooperative Extension, said about 100 people are expected to attend the event. Local farmers are anticipated to attend, as are representatives from North Carolina State University, the North Carolina Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and university crop scientists, Morgan said.
Peachland farmer Jamie Caudle donated the use of some of his land to the extension office and scientists, who planted the wheat in October. During the field day, the extension office and scientists will show off their research from the last several months, including tests of crops meant to be resistant to weeds, diseases and more.
The main plot is the official variety trial, which contains samples of more than 100 varieties sent by companies to the universities to be planted and tested. The university keeps track of those samples, while Morgan and Andrew Baucom, the extension agent in Union County who is helping to host the event, keep track of the rest of the plots.
One of the other plots is a plant growth regulator trial.
“For wheat, a lot of times, our farmers like to apply nitrogen at high levels, because nitrogen boosts plant growth,” Morgan said. “Which is good, because it puts on more nutrition for the plant so it puts on a strong stalk and a full seed head, but we’re seeing at some points that too much nitrogen can cause the wheat heads, where the seed head is forming, the seed gets too heavy and the stalk can’t support it, so it falls over. If you have wheat laying on the ground, you can’t really harvest it. So there’s a new classification of chemicals that came out called plant growth regulators that are supposed to regulate the height of the plant so that the height doesn’t outgrow the strength of the stalk.”
Morgan said that trial includes different types of wheat and different rates of nitrogen and plant growth regulator to see which pairings produce the highest yield.
Another plot Morgan and Baucom are overseeing is a test of fungicides, trying a total of 10 tests of eight fungicides, two at different rates.
“A lot of times, at this time of the year when we have cooler, cloudier weather, it can make a fungus form inside the wheat,” Morgan said. “So one of our studies is looking at fungicide applications, and the timing of those and whether that will prevent a fungus from forming if the conditions are right. It’s one of those studies where you hope you have the right weather conditions at the end of the year, but in the last couple years, we’ve seen these kind of cloudier, cooler days this time of the year and then we have to worry about a fungus starting to grow. So looking at different fungicides available on the market and the timing of those and whether that will prevent a fungus from growing.”
Farmers who visit the plots will receive a map of the layout of the plots with information on each study. A representative will be available at the plots to answer questions.
The plots will be harvested in June, and the data from the plots will be collected, analyzed and made available to local farmers who can use it as a guide to learn which crops worked or failed in this region.
Morgan said similar field days are held across the state, but that this one is consistently the best-attended by farmers.
The event is normally held in Union County, but since Peachland farmer Jamie Caudle was willing to host it this year, it will be hosted in Anson County for the first time this weekend.
“It’s a sacrifice for the farmer to give up land for research, but in the end they get to know specifically what works or doesn’t work on their land,” Morgan said. “That’s kind of their bonus for letting us use the land.”
The field day will begin at 10 a.m. May 3 at Caudle’s farm.
For more information on the field day, contact Jessica Morgan at 704-694-2415 or Andrew Baucom at 704-282-3739.
Reach reporter Imari Scarbrough at 704-994-5471 and follow her on Twitter @ImariScarbrough.