by Clark Neely, Assistant Professor and Extension Agronomist The weather for the 2014-2015 Texas wheat crop had many growers optimistic going into the harvest season with above average yields in many fields across the state. Unfortunately, excessive rains have already prevented some fields from being harvested in South Texas and lodging is quite common across the Blacklands. With continued chances of rain in the forecast, pre-harvest sprouting is another concern that many growers will have to deal with this year. Pre-harvest sprouting in wheat is not a new… Read More →

by Calvin Trostle, Ph.D., Professor & Extension Agronomist. Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Lubbock, TX; (806) 746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Whether on your home computer, your tablet, or with your smart phone in the field, there is a convenient way to access chemical labels for everything from a quick check to assistance in planning your herbicide program. Chemical Data Management Systems, http://www.cdms.net, offers quick access to labels and Material Safety Data Sheets for herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, seed treatments, and many other labeled agricultural products. I rely on this website a… Read More →

by Jason Woodward, Associate Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist, Lubbock, TX; jewoodward@ag.tamu.edu Stand establishment is a critical stage in maximizing yield and obtaining uniformity in maturity. Assessing stand establishment allows you to determine if your crop is growing adequately and may dictate subsequent management options. Historically, cotton producers would frequently utilize high plant populations and thin to a desired density after plants have emerged. Increased seed cost and the adoption of precision planters has resulted in producers utilizing lower plant populations. Cotton plants have the ability to compensate… Read More →

by Dr. Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomist, Lubbock, 806-746-6101, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu; Dr. Vanessa Corriher-Olson, Extension Forages, Overton, 903-834-6191, vacorriher@ag.tamu.edu With the widespread presence of sugarcane aphid (SCA) in Texas in 2014 and the apparent expansion occurring again in 2015 for this damaging aphid to Texas sorghums—grain, forage sorghum, sorghum/sudan, etc.—growers interested in annual forage and grazing may have another option that appears to be unaffected by SCA. Hybrid pearl millet (HPM) is a leafy forage that can have a fit in some grazing and haying operations. Field observations in several… Read More →

by Thomas Isakeit, Professor and Extension Plant Pathologist, t-isakeit@tamu.edu Sorghum downy mildew is a disease that has potential to cause yield loss to susceptible hybrids if there is a high incidence in the field. Previous research has shown yield losses if disease incidence exceeds 30%. The disease occurs most commonly in the Upper Coast counties, and has usually been associated with fields grown under monoculture with hybrids susceptible to pathotypes 3 or 6. The seedling stage, about 3 to 4 weeks after planting, is a good growth stage… Read More →

Mac Young, Levi Russell, Rob Hogan, Steve Amosson, and DeDe Jones, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Department of Agricultural Economics:    The Profitability-Irrigation Analyzer, an Excel-based, decision aid tool is available for crop producers in the Texas High Plains and South Texas. The decision tool assists producers in making management decisions by allowing them to analyze the optimal crop mix to plant under both irrigation and non-irrigation. Many producers in the Northern and Southern High Plains of Texas have been introduced to the tool and have found it… Read More →

Clark Neely, State Small Grains Agronomist:   Warmer temperatures are helping some wheat producers in Texas while hurting others at the same time. As temperatures warm into the 80’s for much of the state, incidence of stripe rust is starting to fade in areas from South Texas north through the Texas Blacklands (Figure 1). However, some areas of high stripe rust pressure remain throughout portions of West Central Texas (Figure 2). With flag leaves recently emerged or nearly emerged in most locations, growers need to scout fields regularly… Read More →

Paul A. Baumann, Josh McGinty, Gaylon Morgan:   The answer to this question may be due to herbicide resistance. Glyphosate (Roundup) herbicide is very effective for controlling weedy sunflower species. However, in 2014, there were several instances where sunflowers sprayed at the appropriate stage of growth survived in Central Texas. In most cases, glyphosate activity was initially observed at the growing points; however, the plants later re-sprouted from the lower stem and were able to reproduce before crop harvest. See Figure 1. . Seed was collected from plants… Read More →

Levi A. Russell Assistant Professor & Extension Economist Department of Agricultural Economics Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Corpus Christi:   This article summarizes the loss ratios and number of acres insured for four of the major crops in Texas in 2013 and 2014. The four crops covered in this article are corn, cotton, grain sorghum, and wheat. The insurance policies discussed are RP and RP-HPE. It’s important to understand the loss ratios I’ve calculated in the table below. The loss ratio is calculated by dividing the indemnity payment received… Read More →