Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service is teaming with H-E-B and others to revitalize the vegetable growing industry in the Rio Grande Valley, Winter Garden, and other regions of the state. The Rio Grande Valley Vegetable Research and Education Building opened recently in Weslaco, on the campus of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center. The new staffing in Weslaco will include a strictly-for-vegetables plant breeder, a molecular biologist and a plant pathologist.
The A&M AgriLife center in Uvalde will get a similar team to focus on vegetables suitable for the Winter Garden area. A third program is being developed for College Station. The researchers will use marker-assisted breeding to try to adjust plant genetics to the soils, temperatures, water patterns, pests and diseases of Texas growing regions. Field teams will grow the new varieties, and the cultivation efforts will be complemented by food safety and marketing programs with input from partners such as H-E-B.