Author Archives: ahairston1
Wheat Variety Grain Picks for Texas – 2021-2022
Dr. Fernando Guillen-Portal, Small Grains Extension Specialist, Soil & Crop Sciences Dept. College Station, (406) 579-5638, f.guillenportal@agnet.tamu.edu Dr. Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy, TAMU Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 723-8432, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Russ Garetson, MS, Small Grains Extension Program Specialist, TAMU Soil & Crop Sciences, College Station, (214) 460-5510, russ.garetson@ag.tamu.edu Continuing an established tradition, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension has identified the annual winter wheat variety “Pick’s list” for the 2021-2022 growing season for each of the wheat variety testing regions in Texas, the High Plains, Rolling… Read More →
2021 Texas High Plains Cotton Harvest-Aid Guide
Murilo Maeda, Extension Specialist – Cotton, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Wayne Keeling, Systems Agronomist, Texas A&M AgriLife Research INTRODUCTION Cotton is cultivated as an annual crop but is inherently a deciduous perennial. As such, it is a flexible crop that responds well to both environmental and management factors. Harvest-aid chemicals are generally used to facilitate mechanical harvest of a mature crop by promoting leaf abscission, boll opening, and desiccating plants for stripper harvest. Premature application of these chemicals can result in loss of lint… Read More →
TEXAS ROLLING PLAINS PICKS LIST FOR 2021-2022
Emi Kimura, Assistant Professor and Extension Agronomist Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Vernon, TX Emi.kimura@ag.tamu.edu 2020-2021 Cropping Season in Review The wheat season started with mild soil temperature in the fall of 2020. However, dry condition persisted during planting season through March, which reduced forage production potential for dual-purpose and small grain pastures in the Rolling Plains. In addition to the lack of soil moisture, snowstorm in mid-February slowed the development of small grain, which further reduced forage production in the region. Although freeze injury was minimal… Read More →
Fall Armyworm Control in Pastures
Dalton C. Ludwick, Holly Davis, Sonja L. Swiger, and David L. Kerns Extension Entomologists, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Recent rainfall events have been a major problem this summer. As a result of this rainfall, fall armyworms (Spodoptera frugiperda) are thriving across the northern, central and eastern portions of Texas. Below is some information on the biology of the pest, how to scout for them, and control options to mitigate damage. Biology and Damage There are two strains of fall armyworms (FAW): the corn strain and the grass… Read More →
Cotton Management Following Inundated or Saturated Conditions
Dr. Benjamin McKnight Extension Cotton Specialist, TAMU Dept. of Soil and Crop Sciences, College Station, (979) 845-0870 After a dry start to the 2021 Texas cotton growing year, most of the production regions around the state have received much needed relief to drought conditions. The Texas drought monitor maps from the month of April puts into perspective how dry conditions were across the state, with approximately 90% of Texas in some form of moisture deficit. Currently in July, approximately 90% of the state is not considered to… Read More →
Cover Crops for Weed Management and Conservation Agriculture in Texas
Texas Row Crops Newsletter – Jodie McVane Reisner – May 2021 Jodie Reisner, Spencer Samuelson and Muthukumar Bagavathiannan Integrated weed management (IWM) is a diverse approach to managing weeds, which combines complementary approaches for desired weed management results (Figure 1). Studying the cultural, mechanical, physical, and biological forms in combination with chemical forms at the farm level can offer producers insights as to what can work effectively on their farms. IWM entails cultural tactics such as crop rotations, adjusting seeding rates, planting cover crops between cropping seasons… Read More →
Iron (Fe) Deficiency in Texas Crops Made Worse by Wet Weather
Dr. Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu; June 9, 2021 Much of Texas has experienced heavy rains, cloudy conditions, and water-logged soils since early May. Many crops will show signs of nutrient deficiency under such conditions. These include iron (Fe) and nitrogen. Symptoms for N and Fe nutrient deficiency may be confused with each other. Nitrogen is mobile within the plant. N deficiency leaf symptoms are expressed in older leaves. This is usually a broad… Read More →
Impact of Ponded Water/Flooding on Corn and Sorghum
Ronnie Schnell, Ph.D. Associate Professor and Cropping Systems Specialist Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, College Station Tony Provin, Ph.D. Professor and Extension Specialist – Soil Chemistry Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, College Station Numerous rain events have resulted in flooding or significant ponding of water in many corn and sorghum fields across Texas. While low-lying areas may be flooded, other areas of fields may be saturated for extended periods of time. How long can corn or sorghum survive under saturated or flooded conditions? What impact will these conditions… Read More →
Reniform nematodes in cotton – new genetic resistance offers relief
Jennifer Dudak1, Reagan Noland2, Tom Isakeit1, Terry Wheeler3, Benjamin McKnight1, and Gaylon Morgan5 Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, College Station, TX Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, San Angelo, TX Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Lubbock, TX Cotton Incorporated, Cary, NC Reniform nematodes have proven to be detrimental to U.S. cotton production. In 2019, an estimated 189,000 bales of cotton were lost due to this pest hindering cotton performance (Figure 1) (Lawrence et al., 2020; United States Department of Agriculture National Statistics Service, 2020). TRCN 2021 Figures-1 A team… Read More →