by Dr. Clark Neely, Statewide Small Grains Extension Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Retaining Volunteer Wheat A unique situation is unfolding for many wheat producers across the state of Texas this fall, particularly for areas of the Blacklands, which started back in the spring. Torrential spring rains destroyed or otherwise prevented harvest of many wheat acres throughout Texas in 2015 providing a large seedbank of wheat seed in the soil. Once fields were abandoned or insured out, drought quickly set in for much of the summer months, allowing… Read More →

by Emi Kimura, Assistant Prof., Vernon; emi.kimura@tamu.edu and Clark Neely, Assistant Prof., College Station; cneely@tamu.edu Winter wheat in the 2014-15 crop year endured a wet spring, which caused pre-harvest sprouting and many head diseases (stinking smut, loose smut, and Fusarium head blight or scab infection) throughout the regions in the state. Some areas of the state had less than 30% germination on wheat acres planted for forage due to the low quality wheat seed. The wet conditions in the spring of 2015 lowered the quality of wheat seed… Read More →

by Thomas Isakeit, Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist, College Station Goss’s wilt is a bacterial disease of corn, caused by Clavibacter michiganensis subsp. nebraskensis, which had been restricted for decades to Colorado and a few Midwestern states since its first discovery in 1969. In recent years, it appeared beyond this area, mostly in more Midwestern states, but additionally, in 2013, to the north and west, in Alberta and to the south, in Louisiana – a separation of 1900 miles and in growing areas each with very different climates… Read More →