agriculture

Suhas Vyavhare & Katelyn Kesheimer, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension It�s go time for the cotton planters on the Texas High Plains. Planter wheels are turning throughout the region with clouds and patchy rain loomed in the forecast. There has been some early planting underway and we already are seeing some emerged cotton. Wireworms will be one of the first pests you will see in the Texas High Plains cotton. The wireworm adults (click beetles and darkling beetles) become active in early spring and lay their eggs in the soil in clusters. The adults, as well as the larvae produced from the late summer and fall egg-lays, overwinter in the soil in leaf litter, stubble, or other suitable habitats. Wireworms attacking cotton tend to be most severe following grains crops, especially sorghum, fallow or weedy ground, or in reduced-tillage systems. Click beetle Darkling beetle Wireworm larva Most damage is inflicted by larvae, although some darkling beetle species can girdle or clip seedling ...

This year's fall armyworm pheromone trap captures at the Lubbock Research and Extension Center are at historic lows for the eight years we have been operating the traps. There are no technical problems with the pheromone lures, and we have plenty of corn near the traps to attract moths. Of course the big question is why fall armyworm is mostly a no-show this year. We discussed this among Extension Entomology personnel on the High Plains and can't come up with a solid answer. There are plenty of moths on the Gulf Coast, we have the normal number of host plants, and we had a mild winter. Even thought I can't explain it, I am confident that this phenomenon is real and it is good news for our whorl stage corn and sorghum.

Suhas Vyavhare, Extension Cotton Entomologist, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service The EPA has approved the Section 18 Emergency Exemption for use of Transform WG in Texas to control plant bugs in cotton. Approved distribution and use only in Andrews, Armstrong, Atascosa, Austin, Bailey, Baylor, Bee, Borden, Brazoria, Briscoe, Brooks, Calhoun, Callahan, Cameron, Carson, Castro, Childress, Cochran, Coke, Coleman, Collingsworth, Colorado, Cottle, Crosby, Dallam, Dawson, Dickens, Donley, Duvall, Fayette, Fisher, Floyd, Foard, Fort Bend, Gaines, Garza, Goliad, Gonzales, Gray, Hale, Hall, Hansford, Hardeman, Hartley, Haskell, Hemphill, Hildago, Hockley, Howard, Hutchinson, Jackson, Jim Hogg, Jim Wells, Jones, Kent, King, Kleberg, Knox, Lamb, Lavaca, Lipscomb, Lubbock, Lynn, Martin, Matagorda, Mitchell, Moore, Motley, Nolan, Nueces, Ochiltree, Oldham, Parmer, Refugio, Roberts, Runnels, San Patricio, Scurry, Shackleford, Sherman, Starr, Stonewall, Swisher, Taylor, Terry, Throckmorton, V...

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 ...

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...