Category Archives: Agriculture
Is there any meaningful value in volunteer wheat?
Occasional stands, though “free,” tend to hold false promise. Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu A Floyd Co., Texas farmer sent the pic below of what I regard as the “best” stand of volunteer wheat I have ever seen. “What will happen to this wheat?” the farmer asked. “Can I use it?” Fig. 1. Volunteer wheat in Floyd Co. that is thick enough to prompt questions about whether a farmer could… Read More →
Certified Seed Only (CSO) and Plant Variety Protection Act: Wheat Varieties
What farmers can and cannot do regarding saving grain for planting seed Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist, TAMU Dept. of Soil & Crop Sciences, Lubbock, (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu David Drake, Ph.D., Integrated Pest Management Extension Agent, Hunt Co., Commerce, (903) 468-3295, david.drake@ag.tamu.edu August 15, 2023 In the past few years, many if not most wheat seed companies have implemented additional protections on many if not most of their wheat varieties. This includes limiting planting to Certified Seed Only (CSO). This means a CSO variety… Read More →
BLACKLANDS & NORTHEAST TEXAS WHEAT PICKS LIST FOR 2023-2024
Dr. David Drake, AgriLife Extension IPM Agent Commerce, TX david.drake@ag.tamu.edu, (903) 468-3295 The AgriLife Extension wheat Picks varieties were selected based on area Uniform Variety Trial (UVT) for grain-only variety trials. Our ongoing Picks criteria include a minimum of three years of data in Texas A&M AgriLife wheat variety trials across multiple locations. A “Pick” variety means this: given the data, these are the varieties we would choose to include and emphasize on our farm for wheat grain production. Picks are not necessarily the numerical top yielders… Read More →
NORTHERN ROLLING PLAINS WHEAT VARIETY PICKS LIST FOR 2023-2024
Dr. Emi Kimura, Extension agronomist, Vernon (940) 552-9941, emi.kimura@ag.tamu.edu The AgriLife Extension wheat Picks varieties were selected based on area Uniform Variety Trial (UVT) for grain-only variety trials. Our ongoing Picks criteria include a minimum of three years of data in Texas A&M AgriLife wheat variety trials across multiple locations. A “Pick” variety means this: given the data, these are the varieties we would choose to include and emphasize on our farm for wheat grain production. Picks are not necessarily the numerical top yielders as important disease… Read More →
TEXAS SOUTHERN ROLLING PLAINS/Abilene & CONCHO VALLEY REGION WHEAT PICKS LIST FOR 2023-2024
Dr. Reagan Noland, Assistant Professor & Extension Agronomist Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, San Angelo, TX reagan.noland@ag.tamu.edu (325) 653-4576 Picks and Watch List Varieties for 2023-2024 Growing Season in Southern Rolling Plains/Abilene/Concho Valley region— The AgriLife Extension wheat Picks varieties were selected based on area Uniform Variety Trial (UVT) for grain-only variety trials. Our ongoing Picks criteria include a minimum of three years of data in Texas A&M AgriLife wheat variety trials across multiple locations. A “Pick” variety means this: given the data, these are the varieties… Read More →
Wheat Grain Variety Picks for the Texas High Plains in 2023-2024 & 2022-2023 Texas High Plains Wheat Production Summary
Dr. Jourdan M. Bell, Associate Professor and Agronomist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Research, Amarillo, jourdan.bell@ag.tamu.edu, (806) 341-8925 Dr. Calvin Trostle, Professor and Agronomist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Lubbock, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu, (806) 746-6101 2022-2023 Wheat Cropping Season in Review The 2022-2023 wheat season was marked by extreme weather events. Continued drought conditions in fall 2022 resulted in poor planting conditions across most of the Texas High Plains. Timely planted fields benefited from late September and early October 2022 rainfall, but fields quickly dried out. In most… Read More →
In-field equipment cleaning and sanitization options to reduce between field movement of reniform nematodes
Morgan McCulloch, Reagan Noland, and Thomas Isakeit Reniform nematodes, Rotylynchulus reniformis, have become an issue for many cotton producers across Texas. The female microscopic roundworms use specialized stylets (mouthparts) to pierce and embed their heads into roots to syphon nutrients from the plant. This causes above ground stunting, increases the plant’s susceptibility to other stressors, and reduces boll load. Reniform nematodes can remain dormant in the soil for up to two years and have a wide host range. This makes them difficult to manage and requires long-term management… Read More →
Managing Hessian fly in Wheat
1.Tyler Mays, Extension Agent-IPM Hill and McLennan Counties, tyler.mays@ag.tamu.edu David Kerns, Associate Department Head & State IPM Coordinator David Drake Extension Agent-IPM-Hunt and Grayson Counties Hessian fly in wheat has been a significant issue for wheat producers across much of Eastern Texas for the last two years. During this time there have been numerous fields that have been plowed under due to poor stands caused by extreme Hessian fly populations. As we prepare to plant the 2024 wheat crop now is a great time to think about… Read More →
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 →