Kansas wheat farmers are invited to Hays, Kansas, on May 22 for Kansas Wheat Day, hosted by the KSU Ag Research Center.
Registration will begin at 8:30 a.m. in the auditorium with coffee and donuts provided by the Kansas Wheat Alliance. The events will last from 9:00 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. and primarily consist of a Wheat Variety Tour and presentations. Lunch, following the presentations, is sponsored by the Kansas Wheat Commission and will be provided to all participants. A complete schedule can be found at www.wkarc.org.
Bob Gillen, Department Head of the Tri-Center Operations for the Western Kansas Agricultural Research Center, will welcome participants to Kansas Wheat Day. Gillen specializes in rangeland management and has experience working with animal, plant and soil scientists.
"Attendees will be able to view and compare all of the leading wheat varieties in Kansas side-by-side, hear the latest information on managing herbicide-resistant weeds, and they will see demonstrations of wheat yields under different tillage treatments and nitrogen fertilizer rates," explained Gillen.
The Wheat Variety Tour will be directed by Guorong Zhang, KSU Wheat Breeder. Zhang achieved his Ph.D. in Plant Breeding and Genetics and has used his degree in teaching, research and variety development. Farmers will have the opportunity to interact with wheat breeders and hear about potential new K-State wheat variety releases from the Kansas Wheat Alliance.
Augustine Obour, Western Kansas Ag Research Center Soil Scientist, is scheduled to speak about "Strategic tillage in no-till systems." His expertise is in soil and nutrient management with emphasis in tillage and nutrient management interactions in dryland cropping systems.
"CoAxium wheat production system for grassy weed control" will be presented by Vipan Kumar, Weed Scientist at the Western Kansas Ag Research Center. His research at K-State focuses on understanding weed biology and ecology and developing integrated weed management strategies for dryland cropping systems.
Romulo Lollato, K-State Wheat Extension Specialist, will present on wheat production research updates. Currently, Lollato directly oversees over 20 different research projects related to wheat production or applied wheat physiology, with most pertaining to master’s theses or Ph.D. dissertations of students training in his program.
Erick DeWolf, K-State plant pathologist, will also be presenting on "Wheat Disease and emerging tools for management." DeWolf focuses his research on development of disease management strategies for fungal diseases of wheat, including Fusarium head blight, tan spot, leaf rust and stripe rust.
Make plans now to attend Kansas Wheat Day on May 22 in Hays, Kansas. The events are located at the K-State Agricultural Research Center – Hays, 1232 – 240th Ave, Hays, KS 67601. Kansas State University is committed to making its services, activities and programs accessible to all participants. If you have special requirements due to a physical, vision, or hearing disability, contact Guorong Zhang, 785-625-3425, Ext 213, or visit www.kswheat.com.
