Spring 2015 Information Download
There is a lot of
helpful information from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension that can make a big
difference in tight growing seasons like this one looks to be. Knowing where to get access to it can
sometimes be difficult. I will share
some of the pressingly pertinent and timely web based information we have available here today.
Looking for information
on cotton varieties?
There is a wealth of information
out there, especially here in West Texas.
First I’ll mention Dr. Jane Dever’s Cotton
Improvement Program based at the experiment in Lubbock. To
help generate funds for the cotton breeding program, this program runs small
plot cotton variety trials that are held in extremely high regard in the cotton
breeding industry and with consultants and producers that have been exposed to
the body of work. These trials can have
as many as 40 varietal entries and are conducted throughout the region, not
just the district. These trials take a
good real world and highly replicated look at each variety with answers about
how they will perform in your neck of the woods and throughout the area under a
variety of situations which can include late planting, disease pressure, salt
pressure, irrigation regimes, row spacing, and sometimes even planting patters. To get a look at the 2014 results go to: http://24benefi37g1f8w8w3ohxam1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/files/2015/02/Cotton-book-2014online1.pdf
directly or you can go to www.lubbock.tamu.edu
and look up several season’s worth of the cotton improvement lab’s work.
The following is a note from Dr.
Mark Kelley, Cotton Agronomist for District 2, whose program is
famous for large plot cotton variety RACE trials
across the region. He also
has his results posted online.
Cotton
Variety Selection
Cotton
variety selection is one of the most important, if not the most important,
decisions that producers on the Texas High Plains and in the Texas Panhandle
make each year. Luckily, many excellent
varieties are available and are suited for this region. However, not all varieties fit the diverse field
conditions and management practices observed in the region. Variety characteristics, such as maturity (or
earliness), plant growth habit, fruiting habit, disease or nematode tolerance,
technology traits, and storm tolerance, are just a few of the key considerations,
in addition to yield potential and fiber quality. Selecting varieties for individual fields
rather than planting one variety to an entire farm is highly recommended. Field based factors to consider when making
decisions for a variety include, soil type, irrigation capacity and method (if
irrigated), fertility level, disease or nematode presence and identity, weed spectrum
and herbicide resistance, and tillage practices. To assist with variety selection, Texas
A&M AgriLife Extension and Research, as well as local crop consultants and seed
company personnel, conduct many cotton variety tests annually. These trials/demonstrations are widespread
and are conducted under variable field and environmental conditions as well as
varying management practices. Results
from multiple locations (and years if possible) should be considered,
especially when adopting a new variety. When
planting a variety for the first time, plant a limited number of acres in order
to “learn” the response of the variety to field and management practices. For information on past and recent variety
trials conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, producers may visit the
Lubbock Center website at http://lubbock.tamu.edu or http://cotton.tamu.edu
. If more information is needed or if
questions about particular variety trial results arise, producers are welcome
to call me at 806-781-6572 (mob), or 806-746-6101 (ofc). Below are links to the most recent variety
reports from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and Research:
Concerned about the
sugarcane aphid in sorghum?
Dr.
Ed Bynum, District 1 Entomologist, and Dr. Pat Porter, District 2 Entomologist
have created a blog related exclusively to the sugarcane aphid. IPM agents and Specialists from across the State
of Texas will be filling this blog anytime they need to publish an article
pertaining to the aphid complete with research updates, trouble locations,
severity, and the latest on management information. Please follow the sugarcane aphid blog at: http://txscan.blogspot.com/
Like what you see on
this quick update and alert blog, but want more detail and firmer recommendations?
Then
please subscribe to our Plains Pest Management
Newsletter by calling 806-291-5267 and
asking for Audrey or Blayne. We will get
you signed up for our in-season weekly newsletter that will be full of weekly scouting
reports, Hale, Swisher, and Floyd pest status, tips on identification, research
results, management recommendations, insect population reports, along with
countless other IPM topics and photographs.
It’s free and comes via email weekly during the growing season and as
needed through the winter and spring months.
Sign up for
the Pest
Patrol Hotline at: www.syngentapestpatrol.com
and receive text messages whenever I find a pest population worthy of an
alert. When we do find a pest serious
enough to warrant an area wide alert, I will phone in to the hotline a pest
description, why this pest is a concern, what to look for, an action threshold
recommendation, and a short list of solution recommendations. If you are signed up, you will receive a text
message notifying you of a pest alert issued by me and you may answer the
message via phone to hear my alert via voice mail format. Just go to the website and follow the
instructions to sign up.
Thanks,
Blayne Reed
