SAN ANTONIO — The 2012 International Spinach Conference will be held Nov. 29-30 at the La Quinta Inn and Suites, 100 W. Caesar Chavez Blvd., San Antonio.

The 2012 International Spinach Conference Nov. 29-30 in San Antonio will include a tour of spinach research and production taking place in the Texas Winter Garden area. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)

On Nov. 29, conference presentations will be held at Blue Star Brewing Company, 1414 S. Alamo St. Registration is from 8-8:30 a.m. and light refreshments will be served. The day’s presentations will conclude at 4:50 p.m.

On Nov. 30, participants will board buses to the Texas Winter Garden area, where they will tour various spinach fields and research plots, said Dr. Larry Stein, conference coordinator and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service horticulturist at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Uvalde.

“Not only will we see fields, but we will also see equipment used for planting and harvesting,” Stein said. “We will have lunch at one of the stops and conclude the evening with an old-fashioned South Texas pachanga.”

Stein said a variety of issues will be addressed at the conference, including methods for improved spinach production, managing disease, ensuring product safety and enhancing the image of spinach through teaching spinach nutrition to chefs.

Conference presenters will include experts affiliated with the Texas A&M University System, University of Arkansas and Washington State University, Del Monte Corporation and Pop Vriend Seeds.

“We’ll have information on both U.S. and European spinach production and consumer trends, as well as growing fresh market and processing spinach in Texas,” Stein said. “We’ll also address strategies for implementing a food safety program on the farm and how E. coli in spinach at the preharvest stage is affected by farm management and environmental factors.”

Stein said international conference participants will include those involved in the spinach industry in the Netherlands, Canada and England.

Registration is $125 through Nov. 1 and $150 after. To register, go to https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu or call 979-845-2604.

For more information about the conference, contact Maribel Alonzo at 830-278-9151 or malonzo@ag.tamu.edu

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