Category Archives: June 2017
How will the Recent Rain Effect the Sugarcane Aphid on South Texas Sorghum?
by Robert Bowling, Assistant Professor and Extension Specialist IPM; Robert.Bowling@ag.tamu.edu How will the recent rain effect the sugarcane aphid on south Texas sorghum? That remains to be seen but, in the past three years it seems that the sugarcane aphid populations have collapsed about 10 to 14 days following major rain events. For most, the recent rain was less than an inch although some folks had over 3 inches of rain. Higher relative humidity coupled with lower temperatures certainly mean the environmental conditions are favorable for an epizootic…. Read More →
Texas Guar Production for 2017
by Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy, Lubbock, (806) 723-8432, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu Guar production in Texas has fluctuated from only a few thousand acres to over 100,000 acres in recent years. Currently world guar gum prices are quite low due to the downturn in crude oil prices which has led to a major reduction in oilfield drilling/fracking of new wells or reduced renovation/fracking of existing wells. When guar prices have been in their historical price range (e.g., gum at $2-3/lb), the value of guar imports through the Port of Houston has… Read More →
Hybrid Pearl Millet as an Alternative to Sugarcane Aphid Susceptible Sorghums—Updated
by Calvin Trostle, Extension Agronomy, Lubbock, (806) 723-8432, ctrostle@ag.tamu.edu In the May 4, 2015 edition of Texas Row Crops Newsletter I outlined how hybrid pearl millet (HPM) might be an alternative to sorghum/sudan (haygrazer) for forage production in Texas. The general consensus is that HPM is a “poor host” of sugarcane aphids. Since then more documentation has occurred to demonstrate that HPM is indeed forage that SCA does not prefer, and we continue to view HPM as a poor host. Counts of SCA on adjacent rows of HPM… Read More →