If
“40 acres and a
mule” come to mind when you think of agriculture, check
out the Envirotron corner of
Ag Showcase ’99 Sept. 9 in Fort Valley, Ga.

Agriculture today is more than mules — even more than the
machinery lumbering over
Georgia fields. The Showcase will display the precision of
science and satellites in
dozens of exhibits by the state’s agriculture schools.

The one-day Showcase focuses on “Fields of the
Future.” Fort Valley State
University, the University of Georgia and Abraham Baldwin
Agricultural College are
cosponsors.

This year’s Showcase is the fourth since 1996. The UGA
College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences hosted the first three at its Tifton and
Griffin campuses.

See Georgia Envirotron
Exhibit

One of the many UGA exhibits this year will show off the Georgia
Envirotron, a unique
facility on the CAES
Griffin campus.

“Our booth will show examples of our research and
equipment,” said Envirotron
Manager Ian Flitcroft. “A variety of studies are taking
place at the Envirotron in
the controlled environmental conditions of the growth
chambers.”

Researchers study plants from many directions. The
Envirotron’s facilities help them
work together to find the effects of many environmental
stresses on plants. The Showcase
display will reveal some of the ways they do that.

It will include peanut and turf plants in growth chambers.
Some of the plants will have
observation tubes installed. Through the tubes, scientists look
at the roots and pods
growing below the soil surface with a minirhizotron imaging
system.

The exhibit will also have an apparatus designed to measure
the carbon dioxide plants
are taking up through photosynthesis and releasing through
respiration.

Other Exhibits Show Off
Agriculture

And the Envirotron is just the beginning. Another display
shows how the CAES brings the
advantages of high-tech science close to home.

The Dis
tance
Diagnostics through Digital Imaging display will have an
imaging station like those in
94 Georgia Extension Service county offices.

Visitors will see how extension agents use digital cameras,
microscopes and
image-capture devices to put pictures into the computer.
They’ll learn how valuable the
DDDI system’s rapid evaluation of pest and disease problems has
already been.

Another display will show the UGA
Automated Environmental Monitoring Network. Visitors can
see how weather data from the
network can be used to build computer models for farm and
environmental management.

Yet another exhibit will describe farming’s global nature.
It will have information on
research priorities, studies abroad, a new Peace
Corps Master’s International program and other international
activities in the CAES.

Many of the CAES exhibits will bring out important facets of
modern farming. They will
show, for instance, how farmers use Integrated Pest Management
in Georgia cotton fields,
nutrient management systems in poultry houses and modern
technology in catfish ponds.

Some Exhibits Hit Close to
Home

But don’t think the UGA exhibits are only about farming and
miraculous sciences. Many
are for people who don’t think they have any connection to
agriculture.

* See how Georgia
Master Gardeners help county agents handle requests about
home landscapes and
gardening.

* Learn about the largest resident environmental
education program in the nation. (It serves 35,000 to
40,000 grade-school students
each year.)

* Find out how CAES scientists show public schools how to
safely manage insect pests.

* Check out a display of fire ants and learn how to keep
your yard all but free of
these troublesome pests.

* Discover how CAES scientists are helping restore the
state’s quail population.

Whether you farm for a living or garden for smaller rewards
— or simply have kids in
school — the CAES exhibits at Ag Showcase ’99 have something
for you.

On the campus of Fort Valley
State, the event will
begin at 9 a.m. and end at 4 p.m. To learn more about it,
contact your county Extension
Service office. Or call (912) 825-6345.