AgCenter Sugar Research Station virtual field tour set for July 15

ST. GABRIEL — The 2020 field day at the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station will be a statewide event held online only because of the challenges caused by the ongoing pandemic.
Internet presentations by sugarcane researchers and invited guests will be available for viewing starting July 15 at www.LSUAgCenter.com/sugarcanefieldday. Viewers will be able to watch the presentations later on YouTube.
“We intend to welcome everyone to the field day as usual, and then our scientists will make their presentations just as they have in the past,” said Jeff Hoy, Sugar Research Station resident coordinator.
“The virtual field day will allow the presenters to include images and graphics in their talks that will add to the content, and by going virtual, we hope to acquaint a larger, broader audience with the important work going on at the Sugar Research Station,” he said.
This will probably be the only sugarcane field day in Louisiana for the 2020 season, Hoy said.
The field tour will include talks on the latest research related to variety development, weeds, insects, diseases and agronomic practices.
In addition, a virtual field day will allow inclusion of a presentation by Niranjan Baisakh on his lab-based program for molecular genetics and breeding.
Poster presentations also will be available in PowerPoint.
The event will wrap up with talks by Bill Richardson, LSU vice president for agriculture; Mike Salassi, AgCenter associate vice president for plant and animal sciences; Jim Simon, general manager for the American Sugar Cane League; and Mike Strain, commissioner of the Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry.