Author Archives: ahairston1
Late-season Irrigation in Wheat
Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Late-Season Texas Wheat: Irrigation Timing & Termination An updated document of the same title has been posted to http://lubbock.tamu.edu/wheat. Late and end-of-season decisions for how much irrigation water to apply (if available) and stage of growth are discussed. Crop yield potential and the cost of further irrigation is considered. Remaining available soil moisture is a significant factor. In general, a simple summary for irrigation termination in wheat or another… Read More →
Soil Testing Principles–Part 2 of 8, Texas A&M AgriLife
This item is adapted from an AgriLife submission to Texas Grain Sorghum Association’s “Sorghum Insider” Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Part II (Part 3 in the next Texas Row Crops Newsletter) Eight Soil Test Pointers for Texas Crops: Part I: What is your soil test lab’s philosophy of nutrient provision? Part II: What does your soil test lab base fertilizer recommendations on? Do you use a soil test lab that is out of state?… Read More →
Wireworms: a threat to stand establishment in the High Plains cotton
Suhas Vyavhare, Associate Professor and Extension Entomologist As we approach the planting season, one of the first groups of insects that we need to start thinking about are wireworms. Wireworm issues are on the rise with increased adoption of conservation tillage practices and potentially the reduced use of aldicarb, a broad-spectrum insecticide over the last decade or so. Although cotton is not a preferred host for wireworms, they still can inflict serious damage to cotton seedlings especially in fields following grain crops. What are wireworms? There are two… Read More →
Sorghum Update- High Plains
This item is adapted from an AgriLife submission to Texas Grain Sorghum Association’s “Sorghum Insider” Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Texas A&M AgriLife Extension thanks Dr. Brent Bean (brentb@sorghumcheckoff.com), national agronomist, United Sorghum Checkoff Program (USCP) for information in this Sorghum Tip. Dr. Bean presented this and other information, especially updates on grain sorghum herbicides, to the High Plains Association of Crop Consultants meeting in Lubbock, March 1, 2023. Sugarcane Aphid Mystery Resolved Since “sugarcane… Read More →
Soil Testing Principles–Part 1 of 7, Texas A&M AgriLife
This item is adapted from an AgriLife submission to Texas Grain Sorghum Association’s “Sorghum Insider” Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu March 6, 2023 Part I (Part 2 in the next Texas Row Crops Newsletter) Seven Soil Test Pointers for Texas Crops: Part I: What is your soil test lab’s philosophy of nutrient provision? What does your soil test lab base fertilizer recommendations on? Do you use a soil test lab that is out… Read More →
Wheat Topdress Nitrogen Update for Texas
Nitrogen and Texas Wheat Grain Production—Topdress N Timing is Critical: Twelve Common Grower Questions about N for Texas Wheat Grain Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Jake Mowrer, Ph.D., Associate Professor & Extension Soil Nutrient & Water Resource Management Specialist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, College Station, (979) 845- 5366, jake.mowrer@tamu.edu March 6, 2023 Much of Texas wheat has entered jointing and reproductive growth. This includes regions into the northern Rolling Plains… Read More →
Hessian Fly and Their Impact on the 2023 Wheat Crop
D. Tyler Mays Extension Agent-IPM, Hill and McLennan Counties Email: tyler.mays@ag.tamu.edu David Drake, Extension Agent-IPM, District 4 – Commerce, TX Email: drdrake@ag.tamu.edu I have received numerous questions and concerns over the last couple of weeks about Hessian fly in wheat, and after their impact on the 2022 crop producer concerns are fully justifiable (Figure 1). It is not news that Hessian fly are once again present across the Texas Blacklands but compared to the 2022 wheat crop their severity is not as bad. There are a couple… Read More →
Two (Uncommon) Foliar Diseases Seen on Fall Corn
In October, I visited a field of corn in Jackson County. Plants had dark brown, circular spots on stalks and the midribs of leaves (Figure 1). Associated with the dark spots on the midrib were smaller spots on the leaf blade that looked like southern rust. There also was a repeating pattern associated with these spots. The disease was Physoderma brown spot, caused by the fungus Physoderma maydis. I confirmed it by examining spores from spots under the microscope. Previously, the only time I’ve seen this disease was… Read More →
Texas A&M AgriLife Sorghum Tips
If it Finally Rains—Late Seeding Sorghum/Sudan for Hay The drought across Texas is acute. I travelled across the state July 20-22. Only near Beaumont did pasture and range look somewhat satisfactory. Reports indicate forage is in short supply in Texas. Prices for hay are up and may climb more. Some livestock producers are reducing herd size or even selling all cattle. We do not know when it will rain. The long-term National Weather Service forecast for Texas projects continued dry conditions into Fall. For the next 7 days… Read More →
TEXAS ROLLING PLAINS PICKS LIST FOR 2022-2023
2021-2022 Cropping Season in Review The wheat season was brutal to wheat growers in the Texas Rolling Plains. Depending on the planting timing, many fields received very little rainfall during the growing season until May 2022. The yield potential was set for wheat by the time we received the first significant rainfall for the season. Forage production was drastically reduced or completely lost in the small grain pastures, while many dryland wheat fields were abandoned due to the severe drought condition. Increased incidents of spider mites were reported… Read More →