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Tomato grafting will be among key topics

Writer: Paul Schattenberg, 210-859-5752, paschattenberg@ag.tamu.edu

Contact: Dr. Daniel Leskovar, 830-278-9151, daniel.leskovar@ag.tamu.edu

UVALDE – The Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde will present its annual Vegetable Spring Field Day from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 11.

Grafting tomato (shown here) and other plant varieties onto more robust or well-adapted ones can help them develop more desirable traits. (Texas A&M AgriLife Research photo)

The event is free and will be held at the center, 1619 Garner Field Road. It is sponsored by the center, Texas Department of Agriculture, Jain Irrigation and JH Biotech, with lunch provided by the First State Bank of Uvalde. The field day also includes breakfast.

Two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units – one general and one integrated pest management – are offered for attendees.

Dr. Daniel Leskovar, center director and vegetable physiologist, said the field day will address various crops, growing systems and improvement methods.

“The field day will provide attendees with insights into olive production, cover crops, hydroponics, high tunnel production, organic systems, vegetable breeding and nitrogen-use  efficiency,” he said. “We will also spend a good bit of time discussing tomato grafting.”    

Leskovar said vegetable grafting involves the replacement of one root system with another having more desirable traits.

“As such, grafting susceptible scion varieties onto resistant rootstocks is an effective alternative tool to manage serious soil-borne pathogens, while also enhancing the growth and yield in tomatoes,” he said.

Leskovar said the Vegetable Physiology Team at the center has initiated a study to evaluate the performance of grafted and non-grafted tomato plants under hoop-house and open-field conditions. The team is also screening several tomato rootstocks in order to identify the best rootstock-scion combination for the Wintergarden region.

Attendees must RSVP by May 4 to Liza Silva at 830-278-9151, ext. 232, or lmsilva@ag.tamu.edu.  

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Lolita meeting fourth presented by Texas Water Resources Institute

Contacts: Allen Berthold, 979-845-2028, taberthold@ag.tamu.edu

Michael Schramm, 979-458-9191, michael.schramm@ag.tamu.edu

LOLITA – The Texas Water Resources Institute is hosting an April 24 meeting in Lolita for anyone interested in becoming involved in a partnership to improve and protect water quality in Carancahua Bay.

Carancahua Bay. (Texas Water Resources Institute photo)

The free meeting will be at 1:30 p.m. at the Lolita United Methodist Church, 94 College St.

Michael Schramm, an institute research associate in College Station, said local residents and stakeholders have been meeting since August to develop a watershed protection plan and total maximum daily load implementation plan to address water quality in Carancahua Bay.

Dr. Allen Berthold, a senior research scientist at the institute, said the Texas Water Resources Institute manages a project that works with local landowners, agricultural producers, residents and other stakeholders to develop a plan and strategies to reduce bacteria in local waterways.

“Carancahua Bay does not meet the state water quality standard for bacteria but voluntary actions by residents across the watershed can reduce pollutants that reach the bay,” he said.

Schramm said the meeting is an opportunity for stakeholders to finalize the water quality management recommendations that will be included in the plans.

“We’re encouraging all interested individuals to attend this meeting as their input is essential for identifying appropriate and desirable plans of action to improve water quality in the region,” he said.

For more information, visit http://matagordabasin.tamu.edu/carancahua-bay/ or contact Schramm at michael.schramm@ag.tamu.edu.

The Texas Water Resources Institute is part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.

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Contact: Dr. Drew Gholson, 979-845-1461, dgholson@tamu.edu

STEPHENVILLE — A Texas Well Owner Network training has been scheduled for April 24 in Stephenville.

The training, which is free and open to the public, will be from 1-5 p.m. at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 1229 N. US Highway 281. It is offered to area private water well owners through collaboration with the Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District.

A Texas Well Owner Network training is set for April 24 in Stephenville. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Steve Byrns)

The Texas Well Owner Network, or TWON, program is for Texas residents who depend on household wells for their water needs, so they can learn more about how to improve and protect their community water resources, said Dr. Drew Gholson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist and program coordinator coordinator, College Station.

“The program was established to help well owners become familiar with Texas groundwater resources, septic system maintenance, well maintenance and construction, and water quality and treatment,” Gholson said.

He said participants may bring well-water samples to the training for screening. The cost is $10 per sample, due when samples are turned in.

“Water samples will be screened for nitrates, total dissolved solids and bacteria,” Gholson said.

Well owners who would like to have their well water sampled can pick up two sample containers from the AgriLife Extension offices in Erath, Comanche, Bosque or Coryell counties.

Bringing water samples to the training is not required, Gholson said, but those wanting to have water samples analyzed must attend.

Gholson said space is limited, so attendees are requested to register at http://twon.tamu.edu/training or by calling 979-845-1461 as soon as possible.

The training is one of several being conducted statewide through the Texas Well Owner Network project.

“The core content of this program is the same as other trainings, but the information is tailored to local water quality issues and aquifers,” Gholson said.

More than a million private water wells in Texas provide water to citizens in rural areas and increasingly to those living on small acreages at the growing rural-urban interface. Private well owners are independently responsible for monitoring the quality of their wells.

“They are responsible for all aspects of ensuring their drinking water system is safe: testing, inspecting, maintaining it. This training will help private well owners to understand and care for their wells,” Gholson said.

Funding for the Texas Well Owner Network is through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant provided by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The project is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.

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Registration deadline April 9

Contacts: Clare Entwistle, 210-277-0292 x205, clare.entwistile@ag.tamu.edu
Dr. Fouad Jaber, 512-213-7389, Fouad.Jaber@ag.tamu.edu

AUSTIN – The Texas Water Resources Institute Urban Riparian and Stream Restoration Program will host a workshop from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. April 11 in Austin for professionals interested in conducting stream restoration projects in that area.

An urban riparian and stream workshop for  professionals is set for April 11 in Austin. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)

The urban riparian stream education program is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.

The morning session will be at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality office, Building F, Room 2210, 12100 Park 35 Circle. The afternoon session will be outdoors along Walnut Creek, where attendees will learn stream surveying techniques.

The workshop is co-hosted locally by the city of Austin Watershed Protection Department, Hill Country Alliance and the AgriLife Extension office in Travis County.

Clare Entwistle, research associate at the institute’s San Antonio office, said attendees must register by April 9.

Individual registration is $100 and can be paid online at https://bit.ly/2I8cqAg. Cost includes all training materials, lunch and a certificate of completion. Attendees are encouraged to register early as the workshop is limited to 40 people.

“Riparian and stream degradation is a major threat to water quality, in-stream habitat, terrestrial wildlife, aquatic species and overall stream health,” said Dr. Fouad Jaber, AgriLife Extension program specialist for the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Dallas.

“Proper management, protection and restoration of these riparian areas will improve water quality, lower in-stream temperatures, improve aquatic habitat and ultimately improve macrobenthos and fish community integrity,” he said.

Jaber said the goal of the workshop is for participants to better understand urban stream functions and the impacts of development on urban streams.

“It will show attendees how to evaluate  healthy versus degraded stream systems, assess and classify a stream using the Bank Erosion Hazard Index and understand differences between natural and traditional restoration techniques,” he said.

Entwistle said the institute is able to offer the workshop at a reduced cost thanks to program funding provided through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Participants also receive appropriate continuing education unit certificates at the conclusion of the training.

“The workshop offers many types of continuing education units and more credits are in the process of being added,” Entwistle said.

Foresters and professional loggers can receive six hours from the Society of American Foresters. It offers one unit from the Texas Water Resources Institute, seven hours for Certified Crop Advisors, and six hours for Texas Nutrient Management Planning specialists. The program may also be used for continuing education units for professional engineers.

Entwistle said attendees should check with their local Master Naturalist and Master Gardener chapters to see if they offer continuing education units for the training.

For more information, contact Entwistle at 210-277-2092 ext. 205 or clare.entwistle@ag.tamu.edu, or visit http://texasriparian.org or Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TexasRiparianAssociation.

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Researcher honored for discoveries in bacterial viruses

Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Ryland Young, Regents Professor and Sadie Hatfield Professor of Agriculture in the department of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&M University, has been named University Distinguished Professor.

Young’s research focuses on bacterial viruses, also known as bacteriophage or phage.  Considered out of the mainstream focus of scientific studies, Young’s work has centered on how a protein or proteins within a virus, known as “phage” in scientific circles, does the same thing to bacteria cell walls as antibiotics. This science is important since many disease-causing bacteria have become resistant to antibiotics.

Dr. Ryland Young, Regents Professor and Sadie Hatfield Professor of Agriculture in the department of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&M University, has been named University Distinguished Professor. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Blair Fannin)

Young and his research team at the Center for Phage Technology, jointly sponsored by Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Texas A&M University, have not only developed better understanding of phage, but also bacteria in general. The applications have been useful for designing drugs to combat E. coli, pneumonia, staph infection, ear infections, Lyme disease and other bacterial infections in livestock and crops.

“We are extremely proud of Dr. Young’s cutting-edge research achievements that span many decades here at Texas A&M,” said Dr. Patrick Stover, vice chancellor of agriculture and life sciences at Texas A&M. “He is truly deserving of this prestigious honor, recognized among Texas A&M’s top researchers.”

Young, who has been at Texas A&M since 1978, earned his doctorate in molecular biology from the University of Texas at Dallas and did his post-doctoral training at Harvard Medical School.

“It’s most pleasing to be recognized by my colleagues here at Texas A&M as well those in the scientific community abroad,” Young said. “The area of research I’m in is a very, very small field. I’m one of the few survivors of the field of bacterial virus research, which nearly died out completely during the 1990s, and the time has now come that phages are used to save human lives.”

Young worked with fellow researchers across the country to use phage treatment to save the life of Dr. Tom Patterson, a professor at UC San Diego School of Medicine, who while on a trip to Egypt became infected with a multi-resistant strain of Acinetobacter baumannii, a deadly pathogen.

Dr. Susan Golden, distinguished professor in the division of biological sciences, molecular biology section at the University of California San Diego, wrote in a support letter, “The fundamental research carried out by Ry’s lab over the years underpins so much of modern phage biology that it’s difficult to imagine what the state of the field would be in his absence – undoubtedly poorer and perhaps non-existent – as he persevered during years and even decades when phage biology was viewed by many as passe and only a few labs carried on.”     

The distinguished professor designation denotes a faculty member who is recognized in the top 5 percent of their field by peers throughout the world. Academic units nominate the faculty members and support letters are compiled from top researchers in the nominee’s field. Following committee approval, the title is granted by the chancellor of the Texas A&M University System.

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Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu

Contact: Dr. Vlad Panin, 979-845-9274, panin@tamu.edu

COLLEGE STATION – Using fruit flies, Texas A&M AgriLife Research scientists may be one step closer to better understanding the pathological mechanisms of muscular dystrophy.

The researchers say they hope their work could assist medical doctors in prescribing effective therapies in the future. According to Dr. Vlad Panin, a professor in the department of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&M University in College Station, fruit flies were used in laboratory research to understand how certain aspects of muscular dystrophy develop.

Dr. Vlad Panin, a professor in the department of biochemistry and biophysics at Texas A&M University in College Station. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

“Fruit flies are very much like humans in how their genes, cells and organs function during development in adult life and aging,” Panin said. “We work with fruit flies to get a better understanding of how human glycosylated proteins work since their functions are similar in flies.”

Joining Panin in the research were his laboratory colleagues: graduate students Ryan Baker, Ishita Chandel, Brooke Howell and Dmitry Lyalin, along with Dr. Naosuke Nakamura who came from Japan to work on the project. They chose fruit flies because flies and humans use many of the same genes, but the genetic makeup of flies is much simpler and the short life cycle of flies better assists scientists in conducting genetic experiments, Panin said.

The focus of the work has centered on Protein O-mannosyltransferase, also known as POMT, an enzyme that modifies properties of many other proteins, which is essential for normal function of muscles and the nervous system. Mutations in POMT genes are known to cause severe muscular dystrophies and neurological abnormalities. How POMT genes affect muscles and the nervous system is not well understood. Currently, there is no cure for the debilitating diseases caused by defects in these genes. To uncover POMT functions, the researchers investigated fruit flies with POMT mutations.

Panin said the research team found that fly embryos use special muscle contractions to move inside the egg, which is thought to help their muscles and neurons develop and establish normal communication. The researchers found these muscle contractions are abnormal in POMT mutants because their neurons do not make proper connections in the nervous system.

The research, published recently in the Journal of Neuroscience and available online at http://bit.ly/2DUOY7U , suggests POMT proteins are required for normal connectivity of sensory neurons to control coordinated muscle contractions and body posture. Intriguingly, abnormal muscle contractions are also observed in muscular dystrophy patients and they were previously reported in zebrafish embryos with a related genetic defect, Panin said.

“Our findings shed light on a novel link between muscle and neural abnormalities in POMT mutant fruit flies, which may help understand similar pathogenic mechanisms in mammals and reveal causes of neurological defects in muscular dystrophies,” Panin said. “We don’t fully yet understand these mechanisms. But we certainly hope that our work will guide future medical studies and will help eventually develop effective therapies for patients with these debilitating diseases.”

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Writer: Blair Fannin, 979-845-2259, b-fannin@tamu.edu

Contact: Dr. Luis Ribera, 979-845-3070, lribera@tamu.edu 

COLLEGE STATION – Dr. Luis Ribera has been appointed to the Council on Food, Agricultural and Resource Economics.

Ribera is a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist and director of the Center for North American Studies at Texas A&M University in College Station.

Dr. Luis Ribera, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service economist and director of the Center for North American Studies at Texas A&M University in College Station. (Texas A&M AgriLife photo)

Also known as C-FARE, the non-profit, non-partisan organization serves as a link between the agricultural and applied economics profession and the national policy making community. It relies on volunteer experts at federal agencies, universities and private industry, according to organizers.

“C-FARE is a non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening the national presence of the agricultural economics profession,” said Dr. Spiro Stefanou, C-FARE board chair and department chair at the University of Florida department of food and resource economics.

“It is truly an honor to be appointed to the board,” Ribera said. “I look forward to working with fellow agricultural economists to continue the excellent work that C-FARE does tackling relevant agricultural and policy issues.”

C-FARE’s funding comes from academic departments, grants and contracts with the U.S. government, contributions to the Agriculture and Applied Economics Association Trust and AAEA, as well as the Southern Agricultural Economics Association. C-FARE has a long history of serving the profession and meeting key informational needs of our nation’s decision makers, according to the association.

For more, visit https://www.cfare.org/ .

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Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu

Contact: Dr. Russ Wallace, 806-746-6101, rwwallace@ag.tamu.edu

LUBBOCK – Those new to strawberry production and old pros alike can catch up on the latest developments in growing the fruit during the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Strawberry Field Day.

The field day will be from 9 a.m.-noon April 21 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 1102 E. Farm-to-Market Road 1294, Lubbock.

High tunnel strawberries at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Lubbock ready for harvest. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Dr. Russ Wallace)

“We’re inviting anyone with an interest in growing strawberries to attend this free program,” said Dr. Russ Wallace, AgriLife Extension vegetable specialist at Lubbock. “Come join us as we tour while we learn about research on high and low tunnel production, biocontrol of root and foliar diseases, strawberry planting and fertilization, new strawberry varieties and costs of production.”

Wallace said the field day is sponsored in part by a grant (LS16-275) from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Southern Region Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education Program.

For more information, contact Wallace at 807-746-6101, rwwallace@ag.tamu.edu .

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Dr. Dotty Woodson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service water resource specialist in Dallas leads the panel discussion “Women in STEM.” (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Gabe Saldana)

Writer: Gabe Saldana, 956-408-5040, gabe.saldana@ag.tamu.edu
Contacts: Dr. Dotty Woodson, 972-952-9688, dotty.woodson@ag.tamu.edu
Dr. Anupma Sharma, 972-952-9234, anupma.sharma@ag.tamu.edu

FORT WORTH – A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service water resource specialist took the podium at Tarrant County College-Trinity River Campus, imploring her audience of about 100 women, “never give up and never let anyone stop you from doing what you want to do.”

The message from Dr. Dotty Woodson, Dallas, came as part of the college’s March 20 panel discussion, “Women in STEM” – an event on the role of women in science, technology, engineering and math. Woodson joined the panel alongside Dr. Anupma Sharma, a genomics postdoctoral research associate with Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Dallas.

Dr. Anupma Sharma, genomics postdoctoral research associate with Texas A&M AgriLife Research in Dallas, gives a talk about her career in science during the panel seminar “Women in STEM.” (Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Gabe Saldana)

Sharma discussed education in her native New Delhi, India, her genomics doctorate from the University of Hawaii and her postdoctoral work, studying genomes by processing massive amounts of data.

“What interested me about genomics was its profound implications in nearly every field of biology,” Sharma said. “Advancements in sequencing technology have enabled sequencing of the human genome for less than $1,000 compared to billions just two decades ago. This has opened opportunities and challenges, especially in personalized medicine.”

Woodson, during a question and answer session, offered advice about where to find information on the types of STEM jobs that exist.

“For every profession, even the most specialized, there is a community of people — organizations that exist specifically for people in that profession,” Woodson said. “Find those groups and be active in them.”

Sharma advised attendees to use the web resources at their fingertips, directing the audience of mostly high school and college students toward MOOCs, or massive open online courses.

“Anyone can take these for free and expand their skill sets,” she said.

The panel, which also included Bell Helicopter industrial engineer Claudia Morales, answered questions about interpersonal experiences in STEM and the challenges of balancing family life against higher education and work.

Woodson spoke about a time when she caught her son telling a group of plant professionals about orchids shortly before a course she would give on the plant.

“He was giving my talk!” she said. “My children didn’t suffer because of my career in STEM; they grew because of it.”

A licensed pesticide applicator, Woodson also recounted snickering that once resonated from a majority-male audience before her course to a group of farmers and ranchers earlier in her career.

“I heard one of them say, ‘This girl is really going to come in here and talk to us?’ And my ears picked up other comments and scoffs as I walked up to the stage,” Woodson said. “But within 10-12 seconds of speaking, they knew that I knew what I was talking about; I had their attention.

“Never let anyone stop you from accomplishing what you set out to accomplish,” she said.

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