Category Archives: 2023
Soil Testing Principles- Part 3
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 III (Part 4 in a future ‘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? Part III: Do you use a soil test lab that… Read More →
The Winding Path of Stink Bug Management in Grain Sorghum
This item is adapted from an AgriLife submission to Texas Grain Sorghum Association’s “Sorghum Insider” Dalton Ludwick, Ph.D., Assistant Professor & Extension Entomologist, TAMU Dept. of Entomology, Corpus Christi, (361) 698-7400 ext. 1225, dalton.ludwick@ag.tamu.edu, Twitter: @SouthTXBugs Insecticides There are several key pests of grain sorghum production in Texas. Along the Coastal Bend, rice stink bug is a major, annual pest that moves between non-crop hosts and crops (e.g., rice, grain sorghum). In 2009, Dr. M.O. Way (retired professor, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Beaumont) documented poor control with an… Read More →
Keeping Current with AgriLife Extension Test Lab Submittal Forms
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 The Texas A&M Soil/Water/Forage Testing Lab, https://soiltesting.tamu.edu/, is in College Station. It is a public lab that participates in the North American Proficiency Testing program for quality control/quality assurance. There are five types of general tests the Soi/Water/Forage Testing Lab (SWFTL) performs. These are not limited to soil! The types and their direct links… Read More →
More than Colorful Pictures: Additional Uses for the U.S. Drought Monitor
This item is adapted from the July 3 Texas A&M—AgriLife Agronomic Monday Memo (TAM-AAMM). Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu A bird’s eye view of drought conditions in your general area Fig. 1. Comparison of Texas drought conditions on June 27, 2023, versus an earlier date of your choice (here three months earlier, March 28, 2023). Statistics give the percentage of each drought category. This side-by-side comparison of dates is one of many functions… Read More →
Guar Contracting Resumes in Texas
Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Guar Resources, Brownfield, TX suspended new crop production of guar after the 2020 cropping season. A long-time interest in guar in the Rolling Plains and South Plains is this legume’s heat and drought tolerance. The bubble in world guar gum prices burst after 2012 (up to $12/lb. when historical prices were about $2/lb.). Guar gum imports in the Port of Houston are still near $1/lb. An oil and gas… Read More →
Possible Land Purchase Depreciation of High Residual Soil Nutrients
Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu I contribute to a monthly “Ask the Agronomist” question-and-answer column published in the Wheat Farmer/Row Crop Farmer newsletter from 34Star Publishing in Kansas. This topic from the May edition is little known in Texas and originates mostly from the U.S. Corn Belt. Residual (Excess) Soil Fertility Tax Deduction Question: In order to deduct the value of excess fertilizer on newly purchased or inherited land, what is the best… Read More →
Soil Testing Principles–Part 3 of 8, Texas A&M AgriLife
Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Residual (Excess) Soil Fertility Tax Deduction: In order to deduct excess fertilizer on newly purchased or inherited land, what is the best way to compute and document that deduction? Necessary background: On 2/23/2023 Kansas State University Dept. of Agricultural Economics reprinted as an Extension publication a commentary from a law professor blog published on 2/21/2023. This document and the references therein outline a legal means where residual soil fertily at… Read More →
Agronomic Considerations for Growing Fiber Hemp in Central Texas
Plant Information Fiber hemp (Cannabis sativa L.), an annual crop, is grown for bast and hurd fibers. Some are dual-purpose grown for grain and fiber, but the focus of this article is hemp for fiber production. Bast fibers are produced from the outside of the stalk, while hurd fibers are from the interior wood core. Most of the current fiber hemp varieties are photoperiod sensitive and flower according to day length. Fiber hemp has separate male and female plants, which are typically mixed in a seed bag. Figure… Read More →
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 →