Category Archives: 2022
Expanded Sesame Opportunities in Texas
Sesame is a drought tolerant, heat tolerant crop with relatively few pests—either insects or plant diseases—compared to other Texas crops. For 2022 there are new contract opportunities among multiple groups. All offer variety choices for indehiscent (non-shattering) varieties developed for large-scale mechanical harvest farming operations. Non-shattering sesame would better be called reduced shattering types. Some seed losses at the header/cutter bar occur. But this is part of sesame production and is acceptable. Combine operators can minimize these losses. This is in sharp contrast to sesame in… Read More →
Hessian Fly Article
Tyler Mays, Extension Agent-IPM, Hill and McLennan Counties David R. Drake, Extension Agent-IPM, District 4 – Commerce, TX Email: drdrake@ag.tamu.edu Matt Matocha, Extension Program Specialist- IPM, Southern Blacklands, Thrall, TX, matthew.matocha@ag.tamu.edu Hessian fly are being found in wheat fields across the Texas Blacklands and are a potential production issue this year. The Hessian fly is a small fly that during the larval stage can be a significant pest of wheat and some other small grain crops like barley, triticale, and rye. There are several wild host… Read More →
Canola Forage in the Texas High Plains
Jourdan M. Bell, Carla Naylor, and Juan Piñeiro Canola is largely produced as an oilseed crop, but it is also a high-quality forage (grazing and ensilage), although as with other forages, nutritive value is closely tied to the agronomic management, crop maturity and growing conditions. In the Texas High Plains, corn has traditionally been the silage of choice, but as irrigation capacities decline, livestock producers are evaluating alternative forage options including canola. While there is limited canola planted for oilseed production, in recent years canola silage (canolage) has… Read More →
Texas A&M AgriLife “Texas Row Crops Newsletter”—Industrial Hemp
Dr. Calvin Trostle, Professor & Extension Agronomist/AgriLife State Hemp Specialist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Our next statewide AgriLife Zoom update is January 4, 2022, 5:15-6:30 PM CST. Please register in advance for this meeting: https://agrilife.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJAqduigpz8vHt3b4ORQbGnNTBe_YsqXt42g After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. What will be the market and interest for CBD in 2022? Much of the CBD industry, especially for extractable CBD, has been battered by all-time… Read More →
Texas A&M AgriLife “Sorghum Tips”
Dr. Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy/TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Finally—Commercially Available Herbicide-Tolerant Grain Sorghums We have heard about this for years. In 2022 there will finally be some options for Texas grain sorghum farmers to consider. Seed for at least some limited acreage of three different herbicide-tolerant grain sorghum hybrids will be available. These will be best for sorghum farmers that struggle with grass control in grain sorghum. Grain sorghum itself is a grass, so otherwise… Read More →
Dry Weather & Nitrogen Prices
Dr. Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu; Wheat Conditions in Texas As you too well know conditions across most of Texas have gradually turned dry and worse into extreme drought (Fig. 1). For the northwest half of Texas winter is not the time we regularly get much moisture. Historically if wheat is established it can be pretty tough and can usually hang on until spring moisture comes, hopefully in time to take advantage of the burst of forage… Read More →