UT schedules organic crops field tour

Posted: Tuesday, April 24, 2012 8:00 pm

KNOXVILLE — The University of Tennessee East Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center has scheduled its fourth annual Organic Crops Field Tour for Thursday.  
Registration and a trade show, including equipment displays, will open at 9 a.m. Tours and presentations will continue throughout the day, concluding with an optional afternoon walking tour.
The event should be of interest to home gardeners as well as commercial growers interested in the production of organically grown fruits and vegetables. The 90-acre Organic Crops Unit is dedicated to organic crop research, and the field day will highlight current research projects and discuss organic crop production techniques and recommendations.
Topics to be presented by UT experts include:
• High tunnels, small-scale rainwater collection, and small-scale composting.
• Reduced tillage, field crop seeding rates and weed control and brown marmorated stink bugs.
• Fruit production, tomato grafting and heirloom seed.
Industry and educational exhibits will also be set up at this event.
On-site registration on the morning of the program will be $15 per person. The day’s activities will include a lunch catered by the UT Culinary Institute. All registration fees will help cover the costs of lunch and a field tour proceedings booklet.
 The UT AgResearch Organic Crops Unit is located in Knoxville at 7315 Government Farm Road, which intersects Highway 168, also known as Gov. John Sevier Highway. The intersection is approximately 1.7 miles east of Alcoa Highway (U.S. 129) and 5 miles west of Chapman Highway (U.S. 441).
For more informationor to request an accommodation for accessibility, call the East Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center at (865) 974-7201.
UT AgResearch, in cooperation with UT Extension and the Tennessee De-partment of Agriculture, launched the organic agriculture initiative to involve more Tennessee farmers in organic production for the purpose of increasing farm income. Organic fruits and vegetables continue to gain in popularity with consumers and have the potential to increase the profits of local producers by reducing the use of off-farm inputs and by filling a niche in a rapidly growing market.  For additional information visit the website: http://organics.tennessee.edu/
The East Tennessee AgResearch and Education Center is one of 10 outdoor laboratories operated by UT AgResearch, a division of the UT Institute of Agriculture. In addition to its agricultural research programs, the Institute of Agriculture also provides instruction and public service through the UT College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, the UT College of Veterinary Medicine and UT Extension offices in every county in the state.
The Organic Crops Field Tour is one of many open houses scheduled this year at UT AgResearch facilities across the state.
For more information  visit http://agriculture.tennessee.edu/news/FieldDays.

Published in The Messenger 4.24.12