Dubbed the Bulb Hunter in a 2006 "New York Times" feature story, Chris Wiesinger took his passion for bulbs to vacant lots, abandoned houses, cemeteries, and construction sites throughout the South in search of botanical survivors whose descendants had never seen the inside of a big-box chain store. The vintage specimens Wiesinger sought came from hardy, historic stock, adapted to human neglect and hot climates, reappearing faithfully over decades without care or cultivation.
Traveling back roads, speaking to strangers, looking for the telltale color of a remnant iris or lily, Wiesinger...

In this complete and approachable manual on grape growing in Texas, Jim Kamas asks the essential question all potential growers need to answer: Why do you want to plant a vineyard?

Outlining the challenges and risks to all who think viticulture is a weekend hobby, Kamas then identifies the state's current grape growing regions and covers everything the commercial or home producer needs to know in order to have a successful vineyard.

Well-illustrated text offers chapters on site choice and design, rootstock and fruiting varieties, pruning and training strategies, canopy and floor...

The abundance of agricultural production enjoyed in the United States is the result of a federal-state partnership that relies on land grant universities to respond to the needs of society through research, invention, problem-solving, outreach, and applied science and engineering.
The Biological and Agricultural Engineering Department at Texas A&M University, established in 1915, has been an important part of that effort. Over the hundred years of its existence, it has successfully tackled the challenges of mechanization, electrification, irrigation, harvest, transport, and more to the...

In a world facing chronic and increasing shortages in food crops and natural resources, visionary leadership in agriculture becomes more and more critical for building and maintaining a sustainable future. It is of paramount importance that the dynamic and challenging evolution in agriculture over the last century and a half be met today with imaginative leadership in virtually all aspects of activities and organizations involved. Leadership in Agriculture: Case Studies for a New Generation focuses on key characteristics and elements of leadership. Using case studies from research, industry,...

For fifteen years, the Texas Master Naturalist program has been hugely successful, training more than 9,600 volunteers who have given almost 2.8 million hours to nature education. This dedicated corps of naturalists provides teaching, outreach, and service in their communities, promoting the appreciation and stewardship of natural resources and natural areas around the state.
Hundreds of new volunteers are trained every year, and the Texas Master Naturalist Statewide Curriculum serves as the basis of instruction for trainees who complete a certification course taught under the...

In this book, Gale Buchanan describes the historical commitment to research and the phenomenal changes it brought to our ability to feed ourselves. He also prescribes a path for the future, pointing the way toward an adequately funded, more creative agricultural research system that involves scientists, administrators, educators,farmers, politicians, and consumers.

Global problem or treasure? This question has accompanied the widespread and controversial mesquite tree wherever it grows and is studied around the world. In this comprehensive reference to the genus Prosopis, rangeland scientist Rodney Bovey has gathered and synthesized years of research in a book that reflects our current state of knowledge about the biology, morphology, and management of mesquite.
Environmentally adaptive, the mesquite is considered by many to be an invasive or a pest species, and Bovey addresses the concerns about mesquite encroachment worldwide. But he also...

A vast swath of prairie situated between the Missouri River and the Rocky Mountains, the North American Great Plains extend across ten states in the United States and three provinces in Canada. The dominant vegetation is grass--both the native species that have long thrived here and the cultivated crops such as corn, wheat, and sorghum that are the result of human agricultural activity.
This comprehensive guide, written by three grass specialists, is an invaluable tool for identification of the approximately 450 species of grasses that occur on the Great Plains. In each description, the...

In The Rose Rustlers, Greg Grant and William C. Welch offer a personal, in-depth, and entertaining account of some of the great stories gathered during their years as participants in one of the most important plant-hunting efforts of the twentieth century--the quest to save antique roses that disappeared from the market in a notoriously trend-driven business.

By the 1950s, almost exclusively, modern roses (those with one compact bloom at the top of a large stem) were grown for the cut-flower market. The large rounded shrubs and billowy fence climbers known to our grandparents and...