Drawing to the close of a cotton season that featured weather woes and dramatic reform in the state's one-variety cotton law, University of California and United States Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service scientists will review their cotton research underway in Kern and Fresno counties and the implications of this season's changes.

Field tours, displays and presentations will be offered at the UC Shafter Research and Extension Center Sept. 23; and the UC West Side Research and Extension Center Sept. 25. There is no charge for registration and the meetings end with an industry-sponsored lunch.

At both sessions, UC cotton agronomy specialist Dick Bassett will review the results of his Upland cotton variety tests. He will also answer questions related to varieties that will be newly available to California growers and the future testing of those varieties. Also at both meetings, Ron Vargas, UC Cooperative Extension cotton advisor in Madera County, will cover Roundup-Ready cotton performance, which has potential for expansion and could significantly change current tillage and weed control practices. UC Cotton Extension Specialist Bob Hutmacher will discuss nitrogen management in cotton production at the two sites.

Other topics at the Shafter meeting are:

• Cotton arthropod pests 1998 update by Larry Godfrey, UC Cooperative Extension Entomology Specialist, UC Davis
• Cotton stalk embedding by Lyle Carter, USDA-ARS agricultural engineer and research leader for USDA at the Shafter center
• Introduced natural enemies for the cotton aphid by Kris Godfrey, California Department of Food and Agriculture research entomologist
• Remote sensing applications in cotton by Stephan Maas, USDA-ARS plant physiologist

Other topics at the West Side meeting are:

• Optimizing irrigation management for Pima cotton by Dan Munk, UC Cooperative Extension cotton farm advisor in Fresno County
• Planting date and plant density impacts by Steve Wright, UC Cooperative Extension cotton farm advisor in Tulare County
• Cotton defoliation methods and materials by Bruce Roberts, UC Cooperative Extension cotton farm advisor in Kings County (and Ron Vargas and Steve Wright)

The Shafter Research and Extension Center is two miles north of Highway 43 on Shafter Avenue. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. No reservations are required. For more information, contact Bob Hutmacher at (805) 746-8020, rbhutmacher@ucdavis.edu.

The West Side Research and Extension Center is at the intersection of Oakland and Lassen avenues about six miles south of Five Points. Registration is at 8:30 a.m. No reservations are required. For more information, contact Dan Munk at (209) 456-7561, dsmunk@ucdavis.edu.

Jeannette Warnert
Public Information Representative
Ag and Natural Resources
UC Center
550 E. Shaw Avenue
Fresno, CA 93710