(Lubbock)—Is there a better way to control weeds or grow tastier tomatoes, watermelons or snap beans? Research under way at the Texas A&M University System Agricultural Research and Extension Center at Lubbock seeks to answer these questions for commercial vegetable producers and home gardeners.
"We conduct applied field research on production methods, weed control options and vegetable variety trials on the Texas High Plains," said Dr. Russell W. Wallace, Texas Cooperative Extension vegetable specialist who holds a joint appointment with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station.
"We also do some weed control research on field-grown ornamental plants such as cannas, irises and daylilies."
Dr. Russell Wallace, Texas Cooperative Extension vegetable specialist
based at Lubbock, shows some of the watermelons grown in his plots as part
of the statewide watermelon variety trials. (Texas Cooperative Extension
photo by Tim W. McAlavy)
So far, Wallace's research on production practices has centered on using different colored plastic mulches for tomatoes and watermelons. He also evaluates the annual performance of 30 or more watermelon varieties as part of the statewide watermelon variety trials, sponsored by Texas A&M University's department of horticultural sciences.
"We evaluated tomatoes grown on plastic mulches in 2004, and this year we evaluated watermelons," he said. "Plastic mulches help the soil warm up earlier, which can give growers an earlier start with their crops. They also promote uniform growth and are a good tool to use with drip irrigation.
"The theory behind different colored plastic mulches is some colors reflect differing light waves onto plants. We're trying to gauge how plants/crops will respond, if at all, on the Texas High Plains."
In his 2004 tomato trials, plants grown on silver plastic mulch produced 25 percent more fruit than plants grown on bare ground. Tomato plants grown over red plastic mulch had a yield advantage of 15 percent compared to bare ground, which is equivalent to black plastic mulch.
"We think the silver mulch reflects more light to the plants, which means more growth, fewer insects and less chance of some viruses," Wallace said. "The results of our 2005 watermelon mulch trial are not fully tabulated yet, but we did get excellent early growth over blue and yellow mulches ... better than with black plastic mulch."
Screening herbicides for use on pumpkins, cantaloupes, watermelons, chile peppers, tomatoes, onions, potatoes, spinach, leafy greens, and dry peas and beans is another part of his research.
"Vegetable growers have very few choices when it comes to labeled, EPA-approved (Environmental Protection Agency) herbicides," Wallace said. "Spinach growers, for example, only have two herbicides labeled for their crop. We've screened herbicides for 15 crops, but our biggest trial right now is with spinach. We have a large trial at Crystal City in the Rio Grande Valley, funded by the Wintergarden Spinach Producers Board.
"For growers, more herbicides means better crop rotation options and potentially higher yields. It also lessens the chances of weeds developing resistance to one type of herbicide chemistry."
If scientists can help industry develop more herbicides for vegetable crops through field and greenhouse screening trials, growers could reap a higher return per acre. Hiring laborers to hoe through vegetable crops costs growers between $150 and $300 per acre. The cost of weed control with labeled herbicides is considerably less – about $45 to $50 per acre, Wallace said.
Some of his herbicide trials are part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Interregional Research Project No. 4, also known as the IR-4 Project. Directors of state agricultural experiment stations organized the project in 1963 to develop safe pest control products for minor food crops, nursery and floral crops, forest seedlings and turf grass. Biopesticides, or natural pest controls, are also part of this national effort.
"Almost every state with this type of crop production participates in the IR-4 Project," Wallace said. "The data from our university research helps industry develop safe products for growers. It's research that industry basically can't afford to do, even though there is a real need for an effective product.
"Our IR-4 research at Lubbock centers on screening herbicides and application methods for leafy greens such as spinach, lettuce, chicory and kale. We do the initial screening in a greenhouse. Herbicides that work well there are then evaluated in a grower's field."
This year Wallace added another component to his annual vegetable trials. He and research technician John Hodges conducted a liquid fertilizer study in conjunction with their watermelon and cantaloupe variety trials.
They injected a slow-release liquid fertilizer at three different rates, using two different applications.
"We tried one, up-front application at planting, comparing it to split applications," Wallace said. "Both are common methods with growers. The cantaloupes responded better to one application at planting than to split applications. We didn't see much difference in the watermelons.
"We may repeat the fertility study to see which method would fit best in a crop rotation with cotton. We've had several cotton and peanut growers express an interest in diversifying their crop rotations using vegetables."
Wallace's vegetable variety trials provide useful information for growers and acreages of all sizes, from large-scale farmers to home gardeners.
"Many of the vegetable variety and production guides written for Texas are not suitable for the High Plains," he said. "This is a very unique climate. We publish the results of our trials on the Lubbock Center Web site, as hand-outs at our annual vegetable conference, and we invite the public in to see our plots first-hand at our summer field day."
Wallace also shares his vegetable expertise by teaching several Master Gardener classes each year. He is a regular speaker at meetings organized by Extension agents, and answers many requests for farm/home visits from farmers and gardeners.
Time is often a precious commodity for Wallace, who is one of four Extension vegetable specialists with statewide responsibilities.
"We stay busy, but that's good," he said. "In the next two to three years, I hope to get more of our research information and some production guides up on our Web site. And I would like to develop a gardening guide tailored to the Texas High Plains."