The annual Chilton Area Peach Production Meeting hosted by the Chilton County Extension Office will be held on Jan. 29.

The meeting is free to the public and scheduled from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Jemison Municipal Complex located at 14 Padgett Lane.

Various topics will be addressed by an array of speakers.

According to a press release by the Chilton County Extension Office, this year’s special guest speakers include Dr. Ted Cottrell and Dr. Tom Beckman of the USDA Fruit and Tree Nut Lab in Byron, Georgia, as well as Dr. Guido Schnabel of Clemson University.

Cottrell will discuss management of insects such as the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug, Lesser Peachtree Borers and San Jose Scale. Schnabel was a speaker at last year’s meeting.

The latest fruit research updates will also be shared with the growers in attendance. The research was conducted at the Chilton Research and Extension Center in conjunction with Auburn’s Horticulture Department.

Grower permits will be available at the meeting for those who call the office to request them prior to the event.

According to Regional Extension Agent Gary Gray, the area has experienced good weather for accumulating the chill hours necessary to produce a “good” peach crop in 2019.

The peach crop had seen 728 hours of temperatures below 45 degrees as of Jan. 15.

Anyone interested in attending the peach production meeting are asked to call the Chilton County Extension Office at (205) 280-6268 by Jan. 24.