agriculture

Under the leadership of its new Administrator, Scott Pruitt, EPA is denying a proposed ban on chlorpyrifos. In part the press release says, �We need to provide regulatory certainty to the thousands of American farms that rely on chlorpyrifos, while still protecting human health and the environment,� said EPA Administrator Pruitt. �By reversing the previous Administration�s steps to ban one of the most widely used pesticides in the world, we are returning to using sound science in decision-making � rather than predetermined results.� Here is the press release . The order denying the petition is here .

http://lubbock.tamu.edu/files/2017/03/Bt-Cotton_ENTO067-1.pdf

Sugarcane aphid will most likely return for another run at the High Plains sorghum crop in 2017, and this is the first in a series of articles to compile management suggestions based on what we learned from our 2015 and 2016 research and general field experiences. Contributors to this work include Dr. Ed Bynum, Extension Entomologist in Amarillo, Dr. Katelyn Kesheimer and Blayne Reed, Extension Agents IPM in Lubbock and Crosby counties and Hale, Swisher and Floyd counties, respectively, and Dr. Pat Porter, Extension Entomologist in Lubbock. Beneficial insects cleaned up the overwintering aphids in 2016 In our 2015/2016 overwintering studies we found successful aphid survival as far north as Tulia. This was a bit of a surprise as our studies the previous year found survivorship only as far north as Hale Center. In 2016 we found SCA on Johnsongrass in Lubbock and Swisher counties in early May. At the time we were concerned that it would be a long aphid season, but fortunately there were ...