UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Wild pumpkins, a vineyard of wine and table grapes, and a "living mulch" system are among the research plots that will be highlighted in guided tours of the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center during Penn State's Ag Progress Days, Aug. 20-22.

The free 30-minute bus tours, which leave every half-hour from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day and until 6 p.m. on Aug. 21, will take visitors through Penn State's horticulture, plant pathology, agronomy and entomology research farms, as well as the USDA Pasture Systems and Watershed Management Laboratory research farm.

On the horticulture farm, visitors will see wild relatives of cultivated pumpkin and squash. The wild varieties are more likely to have resistance to insect pests and the diseases they transmit. Researchers hope that by breeding the wild and cultivated varieties, strains can be developed that are less susceptible to insect and disease damage.

Other horticulture plots include an experimental orchard where apple trees are growing on wires, trellises and poles, which can reduce the need for large equipment, make labor more efficient and reduce the amount of pesticides needed to protect the crop. The tour also will feature research on the use of colored plastic mulch in the production of cantaloupe; an heirloom tomato variety trial; and studies on production practices for growing Christmas trees.

On the plant pathology farm, the tour will feature studies aimed at helping growers eliminate, manage or reduce crop damage from diseases. Visitors will see a vineyard of wine and table grapes, where scientists are evaluating methods to control serious grape diseases, and an orchard containing 68 varieties of ornamental crabapple trees, which are part of a long-term study of apple diseases.

Plant pathologists also are evaluating disease-resistant varieties of pototoes, tomatoes and corn; the effects of plant population on disease; and how environmental information can be used to develop better disease control strategies. Use of weather data gathered in the field allows producers to use fungicides only when conditions favor disease development, potentially reducing pesticide use by at least 40 percent.

The agronomy farm portion of the tour will feature research on the use of crownvetch and other legumes as a "living mulch" in corn. Scientists have found that these legumes can provide --see other side-- ground cover and reduce soil erosion, as well as provide nitrogen to the main crop, potentially reducing the need to apply fertilizer.

Other agronomy research focuses on breeding and management trials for a variety of crops, including corn, alfalfa and forage grasses. Visitors also will see a "garden" containing 100 varieties of common Pennsylvania weeds, and research on how different crop rotations influence corn yield.

At the USDA Pasture Lab, the tour will include evaluations of new forages -- including purple top, wild rye, chicory and plantain -- for use in grazing systems; research to assess how a diversity of forage species in a pasture can improve yield and resistance to environmental stresses; and studies to enhance the establishment and management of switchgrass, a warm-season grass that can be used for livestock grazing and wildlife habitat.

Entomology research to be discussed on the tour includes evaluations of corn that has been genetically enhanced to protect against insect feeding; a study to determine the effects of transgenic corn and plant maturity on a natural enemy of the European corn borer; and a survey of insect biodiversity in potato and sweet corn crops.

Visitors also will see plots with traps baited with insect sex pheromones. Entomologists use these traps -- and others like them at more than 100 sites in several states -- to monitor and forecast corn pest populations. Data from the traps are used to generate maps that are available on the World Wide Web to help growers, crop consultants and others determine the need for control measures.

Penn State's Ag Progress Days features more than 500 acres of educational and commercial exhibits, tours and machinery demonstrations. It is held at the Russell E. Larson Agricultural Research Center at Rock Springs, nine miles southwest of State College on Route 45. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Tuesday, 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday. Admission and parking are free.

For more information, call (800) PSU-1010 toll-free through August 22 or visit the Ag Progress Days site on the World Wide Web at http://apd.cas.psu.edu.

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Contact: Chuck Gill cdg5@psu.edu 814-863-2713 814-865-1068 fax #225