UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences will reveal the latest advances in farming at its annual Crop Management Field Day, Tuesday, July 23 at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, Pa. Research into cultivation techniques, new varieties and pest management systems will be presented by college faculty.

"This is an opportunity for crop producers, ag industry folks and others to see some of the research underway at the research farm," says Gregory Roth, associate professor of agronomy in the crop and soil sciences department. "They also can interact with Penn State crop specialists from various departments."

Research will be featured on four one-hour tours running sequentially from 9:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. Each tour will be conducted twice, and individuals will have an opportunity to attend all four tours.

The corn research tour will demonstrate hybrid testing for corn silage, polymer corn seed coatings, twin row corn planting techniques and strategies for evaluating hail damage effects on silage corn.

The tillage, Bt and white mold tour will present research on zone till corn, Bt corn hybrids and their isolines, and white mold and weed management in soybeans.

The fertility and soil quality tour will highlight studies on pop-up and alternative starter fertilizers for corn on high P soils, as well as nutrient cycling and crop rotations and soil biological activity.

The weed management tour will focus on predicting weed emergence with GDDs, spatial weed management, herbicide screening and glyphosate and weed shifts.

The Larson Agricultural Research Center is located at Rock Springs, Pa., nine miles southwest of State College on Pa. Route 45. The field day is open to the public; registration will be $10 and includes lunch. Attendees can reserve a space by calling 814-865-2543 or by sending e-mail to lac8@psu.edu. The day offers a total of four credits toward Certified Crop Advisor (CCA) certification programs for professional agronomists.

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EDITORS: Contact Greg Roth at 814-863-1018.

Contact: Gary Abdullah gxa2@psu.edu 814-863-2708 814-865-1068 fax #203