ARDMORE, Okla. — Fresh, new topics and perennial favorites are on the agenda for the Noble Foundation's annual Horticulture Field Day on Saturday, June 5. Registration will begin at 8 a.m. and the free presentations are from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Foundation's Horticulture Center. The field day will include seven speakers in four locations plus a landscape plant materials walking tour. A question-and-answer session with the speakers will be held from 11 a.m. to noon.

"Homestead animal depredation control, covered by Noble Foundation wildlife specialist Russell Stevens, and homeowner sprayer and fertilizer spreader calibration and use, addressed by Noble Foundation soil and crops specialist Jim Johnson, are two of the new topics offered at the 2004 Horticulture Field Day," said Steve Upson, field day coordinator and Noble Foundation horticulturist. "Also, we’ll have Ardmore bee keeper E.L. Morton discussing the importance of bees to all types of edible crops."

Noble Foundation horticulturist Dooly Barlow will conduct the popular landscape plant materials tour.

"Every year, people are either renovating existing landscapes or installing new ones," Upson said. "So, the plant materials tour is always appropriate."

Upson will guide a tour of new hoop house and permanent raised bed designs.

"We’re evaluating a new design of hoop house that has been used successfully in Europe," Upson said. "It's not as costly and is designed to be taken apart and reassembled in the field on a yearly basis."

Upson added that people will get an "up close and personal" view and an explanation of construction details for the Foundation's new corrugated metal raised beds.

Other speakers at the field day will be Julia Laughlin, department head of horticulture technologies at OSU-OKC, discussing orchard management, and Dave Gerken, instructor in the horticulture technologies department at OSU-OKC, covering turf selection and care.

"Please join us for the horticulture field day," Upson said. "We present new and different information each year, plus including the favorites. We are always trying the make the best better!"

Free parking for the field day is offered at the Southern Oklahoma Technology Center, 2610 Sam Noble Parkway. Shuttles will operate throughout the morning, taking people to and from the presentation sites.

Although the Horticulture Field Day is free and open to the public, participants are asked to pre-register by calling Melissa Castleman at the Foundation at (580) 224-6411.

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The Samuel Roberts Noble Foundation, headquartered in Ardmore, Okla., is a non-profit organization conducting agricultural, forage improvement, and plant biology research; providing grants to numerous non-profit charitable, educational and health organizations; and assisting farmers and ranchers through educational and consultative agricultural programs.

To learn more, visit the Noble Foundation Web site at http://www.noble.org.

More news releases available at www.noble.org/Press_Release