agriculture

We have just posted nine short videos that encompass our 2015 - 2016 research results and experiences as a primer as we enter the 2017 season. Presenters are Katelyn Kesheimer, IPM Agent in Lubbock and Crosby counties, Blayne Reed, IPM Agent in Hale, Swisher and Floyd counties, Dr. Ed Bynum, Extension Entomologist in Amarillo, and Dr. Patrick Porter, Extension Entomologist in Lubbock. The videos present data from the Texas High Plains and may not be applicable elsewhere. 1.  Aphid overwintering and seasonal abundance  (3:41) 2.  Early planting is a good idea  (3:40) 3.  "Resistant" sorghum hybrids and seed treatments  (4:23) 4.  First insecticide application threshold  (3:03) 5.  Insecticide application and product efficacy  (8:46) 6.  Timing of a second insecticide application  (4:15) 7.  Rate of damage with uncontrolled aphid populations  (4:05) 8.  Insecticides to prevent sticky harvest problems  (5:56) 9...

Suhas Vyavhare, Extension Cotton Entomologist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Variety selection is the most important decision made during the year. Selecting Bt vs non-Bt or the kind of insect trait package is an important consideration in selecting cotton varieties. Bt cotton is genetically altered to produce certain proteins which are toxic to specific groups of insects. For example, currently available Bt traits in cotton specifically target worm pests such as cotton bollworm, tobacco budworm, and beet armyworm. On the other hand, conventional, or non-Bt cotton does not produce such insecticidal proteins and as a result it is more vulnerable to worm damage. Since the introduction of Bt cotton into US agriculture in 1996, the technology has transformed from a single-gene trait to multi-gene trait packages. The 1 st generation Bt cotton had only a single Bt gene. The second generation Bt technologies, such as Bollgard 2, TwinLink, and WideStrike produce two Bt toxins. Whil...

(Because FOCUS on Entomology has a different readership than our Sugarcane Aphid Newsletter , this is a reprint of an article recently posted on the sugarcane aphid news site.) One of the questions as we end the season is what kind of affect does sugarcane aphid damage have on the nutritional quality of sorghum stalks that are used for stover. We conducted two experiments this season, and both were designed to look at leaf damage and its affect on grain yield. However, in conducting these experiments we ended up with many plots with discreet levels of leaf damage, and The United Sorghum Checkoff Program asked us to harvest stalks from the various plots and send them for nutritional analysis. To be clear, the results that appear below are for grain sorghum, not forage sorghum.  One experiment was conducted at the Lubbock Research and Extension Center using a sugarcane aphid-susceptible hybrid grown under moderate furrow irrigation, and the other was conducted at the Helms Farm near ...

Suhas Vyavhare and Katelyn Kowles, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service Stink bug infestation in cotton during August-September Rotten bolls in stink bug infested field  T his season we experienced unusually high numbers of conchuela stink bugs in Texas High Plains cotton (parts of eastern Lubbock and Crosby counties in particular). Stink bug numbers peaked during August-September when plants were loaded with tender bolls that stink bugs feed on with their piercing-sucking mouthparts. Farmers who spotted stink bugs early and took timely action are now reaping the benefits. However, those who missed an insecticide application in infested fields are seeing severe stink bug damage now that bolls have opened. A few infested fields we visited last week have very little to harvest due to the extent of boll damage by stink bugs. During August-September, stink bug numbers were overwhelmingly high in spots�in some fields numbers were over 2-3 stink bugs per boll. When stink bugs feed on...

Western bean cutworm is a serious corn pest in the northern Texas Panhandle and occurs in lower numbers as far south as Hale County. Several years ago the insect underwent a major range expansion and is now the primary corn caterpillar pest in several Midwestern states to as far east as New York and as far north as Canada. This year there have been major field failures of Cry1F in these areas, and the Land Grant entomologists have written an open letter to the transgenic seed industry to prompt them to stop claiming that Cry1F corn controls western bean cutworm. Laboratory data confirming resistance to Cry1F are in the scientific publication process. Given these new developments, we will be modifying our suggestions for Bt corn to control western bean cutworm to include primarily those that contain Vip3a in combination with other toxins. Our now outdated suggestions are in Table A20 (page 32) of Managing Insect and Mite Pests of Texas Corn , 2016. You will easily find the hybrids with ...

The day after the Bayer/Monsanto agreement was announced this week, The Wall Street Journal had an article entitled " Behind the Monsanto Deal, Doubts About the GMO Revolution " (subscription required or article can be purchased). The paragraph that best summarizes the article was, "Today, farmers are finding it harder to justify the high and often rising prices for modified, or GMO, seed, given the measly returns of the current farm economy. Spending on crop seeds has nearly quadrupled since 1996, when Monsanto Co. became the first of the companies to launch biotech varieties. Yet major crop prices have skidded lower for three years, and this year, many farmers stand to lose money." The article contained a graphic that showed that since 1996, the year GM soybeans were introduced on a commercial scale, soybean seed prices have risen 305% to $60.75 per acre, but commodity prices have risen only 31% to $9.79.  It is a bit puzzling why the Wall Street Journal did not c...

2016 has been a challenging year for our Bt crops. Cotton bollworms did an unusually high amount of damage in many fields of Bt cotton, and corn earworms (which are bollworms by another name) caused a significant amount of damage to corn crops from Texas through Kansas. Western bean cutworm caused severe damage in fields of Cry1F corn in the Midwest and Canada where once the toxin provided a reasonable level of control. Fall armyworm is known to be resistant to Cry1F corn in parts of the country. Corn rootworm is resistant to toxins that once did a good job of control. One question this fall is whether we have resistance to our Bt toxins targeted at caterpillars and, if so, how far it has spread. Field observations suggest that we do have resistance, but we will have to wait for the results of the laboratory tests on the progeny of the insects collected from the field. We don't have a magic genetic test to detect resistance, so we do things the old fashioned way by crossing field c...