SAN ANGELO – The 12th Concho Valley Cotton Conference is set for 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 24 at the San Angelo McNease Convention Center.

“All things relating to West Texas cotton production is what this conference is about,”  said Josh Blanek, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service agent in Tom Green County. “This biennial event is the most comprehensive educational program pertaining to cotton in our area. “AgriLife Extension agents, their committee members, industry folks and other planners have gone to great lengths to pinpoint what folks are talking about in the cotton patch. All that and more, including an extensive trade show, will be on tap during this one day event.” Another highlight will be the annual meeting of the Southern Rolling Plains Cotton Growers Association scheduled immediately after lunch. The meeting will include the association’s annual business meeting and the election of new officers.

Topics and speakers during the morning educational session will include:

– Road Safety for Farm Related Equipment, Trooper Shawn Baxter, Texas Department of Public Safety, San Angelo. Talk will also focus on laws regarding transport of fuel, fertilizer and pesticides.

– Updates on Cotton Markets, Jane Byers-Angle, Southwest Cotton Market News Reporter, U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Marketing Service Cotton and Tobacco Program, Lubbock.

– Sugarcane Aphid: Biology, Damage and Management, Dr. Robert Bowling, AgriLife Extension entomologist, Corpus Christi.

– Phytotoxicity of Flutriafol and New Application Methods for Control of Cotton Root Rot, Dr. Thomas Isakeit, AgriLife Extension plant pathologist, College Station.

– Verticillium Impact on Fiber Quality and Seed Treatments, Dr. Jason Woodward, AgriLife Extension plant pathologist, Lubbock.

Following a noon lunch and keynote luncheon address by Reece Langley, National Cotton Council vice-president for Washington Operations, Washington, D.C., the afternoon session will include the following topics and speakers:

– Impact of Low Rates of 2,4-D on Cotton Yield and Quality, Dr. Gaylon Morgan, AgriLife Extension state cotton specialist, College Station.

– Chemical Drift and Your Liabilities, Dr. Tiffany Dowell Lashmet, AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist, Amarillo.

– Is Sesame in Your Future? Charles Stichler, AgriLife Extension agronomist, retired, Uvalde.

Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units, one each in the integrated pest management, drift and general categories, have been approved and will be offered. Those wishing to receive the credits should have their license number ready when they preregister as that information is needed in advance of the meeting, Blanek said.

Preregistration is free and includes the noon meal and snacks, but participants must preregister by the March 18 deadline, Blanek said, otherwise individual registration becomes $20.

To preregister, call the AgriLife Extension offices in Runnels County at 325-365-2219 or Tom Green County at 325-659-6523, or contact Rick Minzenmayer, AgriLife Extension entomologist in Runnels and Tom Green counties, at 325-659-6523.