Stripped Rust in Wheat, May 2015

Stripped Rust in Wheat

                We have had quite a few reports over the past few months from areas to the south of stripped rust in wheat that caused concern and some that required treatment.  Starting early last week and continuing through today, it looks like the stripped rust has blown its way into our fields in Hale, Swisher, & Floyd in force.  In our wheat scouting over the past 10 days or so we have witnessed this plant disease move from south to north at what have become treatable levels.  Conditions had been optimal for an extended period a few weeks ago for spore germination with damp, dewy mornings, cool temperatures, and some good rain events.  With the help of some southern wind and in conditions like those, the spreading fungal spores had ample opportunity to germinate in wheat with the increased humidity and moisture.  These germinating spores infected many of our area what fields and symptoms are now and have been showing up in those selected fields.

                Now that we are (and have been) able to see the symptoms plainly, what we need to be looking at is the flag leaf, at or preferably prior to bloom stage.  Wheat can handle a large amount of foliage damage to the lower leaves without economic concern, but the flag leaf is of utmost importance as it is the primary source for feeding the head.  Up to a point we can say that the percent damage of the flag leaf  at or before bloom stage should roughly equal the percent of yield loss we can expect from just about any wheat disease, including stripped rust.  That is up until the grain fills at soft dough stage.  Once the grain reaches soft dough stage, the economics of disease treatment diminish rapidly and even heavily damaged flag leaves should not require treatment.  The following chart was developed and is promoted by Dr. Ron French, Texas A&M Plant Pathologist, Amarillo to aid in these tough economic decisions regarding wheat disease and treatment.

                If following this chart, and applicable Texas A&M management guidelines, you decide your field has not completed bloom yet, is in an economic situation and requires treatment, there are several good fungicide options to do so ranging in price from a quick knock down up to multiple modes of action with a proven two weeks’ worth of residual.  Please consult all applicable labels and do watch the labeled pre-harvest intervals for your selected fungicide.

Blayne

Soil Temperature and Successful Planting of Sorghum, Corn, & Cotton

Soil Temperature and Successful Planting of Sorghum, Corn, & Cotton

                Planting season is upon us, and many good producers are getting very antsy about getting into the field, especially our sorghum producers who need to get that crop started and get as much development completed as possible before the dreaded sugarcane aphid arrives.  This morning I took a soil temperature reading 1 mile east of Cotton Center, Texas in southwestern Hale County.  It was at 60°F and in no-till with heavy corn stubble cover.  This is a pretty good soil temperature for planting corn or grain sorghum, but is far too cool for cotton. 

                The minimum soil temperature for corn is 56°F (preferably 58°F or with a warmer week ahead to emerge into) while sorghum requires a 58°F (preferably 60°F or with a warmer week ahead to emerge into).  However, most of the weather forecasts I can accumulate are calling for some moderately cooler temperatures later in the week and into early next week.  With those ‘moderately’ cooler temperatures likely not dropping the soil temperatures too much, I feel pretty good about getting a big chunk of our corn and sorghum planting done this week, especially if those ‘cooler days’ come with the predicted chance of rain they are predicted to be with.  On the other hand, we likely need to ignore the calendar date for a week or so longer this spring for our cotton planting needs.

                Cotton gets off to its best start when planted in a recommended 69°F consistent temperature soil (roughly 64°F bare minimum with high air temperatures in the upper 80’s to low 90’s for the following week to continue a steep soil warming trend).  Soil temperature can and does generally follow air temperatures with some lag time.  Higher moisture content in the soil usually slows the soil’s response to air temperatures while dryer soils respond quicker.  Likewise, soils with heavy cover will naturally be cooler through the shading of the soil by the cover.  The best time to take soil temperature reading in your fields would be between 7 AM and 10 AM.  That early morning period is when the soil temperature should be at its lowest, guaranteeing that the reading is accurately the minimum temperature we need to be watching. 

Good luck and good planting!

Blayne Reed

Section 18 for Transform (Sulfoxaflor) Granted on Sorghum

Folks, we just got this word of this earlier this week.  The following was shared by Dr. Pat Porter, Texas A&M AgriLife district 2 entomologist, on the Texas Sugarcane Aphid News.

Section 18 for Transform (Sulfoxaflor) Granted on Sorghum

We have just received word from Dale Scott, Texas Department of Agriculture, that EPA has granted a Section 18 request to allow the use of Transform (Sulfoxaflor) on Texas sorghum for control of sugarcane aphid in 2016. The use directions are being revised now and specific use information will be forthcoming.

This is good news in that we now have two very effective insecticides for use on sugarcane aphid (Transform and Sivanto), and both preserve beneficial insects that have a major affect on controlling aphid populations after initial insecticide application. We would like to thank Dale Scott and the Texas Department of Agriculture for a lot of hard work in getting this Section 18 request approved.

Texas Section 18 Transform WG Label Specifics

The Section 18 label for Transform (Sulfoxaflor) use on sorghum to control sugarcane aphid has been released, and the official version will be posted on the TDA website today or tomorrow. A COPY OF THE LABEL MUST BE IN HAND WHEN APPLICATIONS ARE MADE. The Section 18 Emergency Exemption became effective on 8 April 2016 and expires on 8 April 2017.

Here are some specifics from the Texas Section 18 Label.

• Rate range: 0.75 to 1.5 oz. per acre.
• Application by ground or air (no chemigation).
• Wind speed not to exceed 10 mph.
• Droplet Size: Use only medium to coarse spray nozzles (i.e., with median droplet size if 341 μm or greater) for ground and non-ULV aerial application according to ASABE (S 572.1) definition for standard nozzles. In conditions of low humidity and high temperatures, applicators should use a coarser droplet size except where indicated for specific crops.
• Boom height for ground application: Not to exceed 4 feet.
• Carrier volume for ground application: A minimum of 5 to 10 gallons per acre - to be increased with increasing crop size and/or pest density.
• Carrier volume for aerial application: A minimum of 3 gallons per acre, but a minimum of 5 gallons per acre is recommended.

Restrictions:

• Preharvest Interval: Do not apply within 14 days of grain or straw harvest or within 7 days of grazing, or forage, fodder, or hay harvest.
• A restricted entry interval (REI) of 24 hours must be observed.
• Do not make more than two applications per acre per year.
• Minimum Treatment Interval: Do not make applications less than 14 days apart.
• Do not apply more than a total of 3.0 oz of Transform WG (0.09 lb ai of sulfoxaflor) per acre per year.
• Do not apply product ≤ 3 days pre-bloom until after seed set. 

        

Thanks Pat!  Do please make note of this year's Section 18 and the Restrictions compared to last season.

Thank,

Blayne

Bed Bug Control Though Prevention

Controlling Bed Bugs

                For many of us with our ears unpleasantly close to the situation, we get to hear about the status of bed bugs in Texas.  From what I can hear, see, and believe, it is getting near an epidemic type stage.  Many of the good folks working on the problem directly feel the same, sometimes a little more personally than we would like.

                I have just recently returned from the Southwestern Branch of the Entomological Society of America’s annual conference.  I will not state where the conference was at or which hotel it was in for obvious reasons.  I do not want to overly disparage the hotel because bed bugs are very hard to control and are spreading at an alarming and epidemic rate.  However, we had a hotel full of entomologists which had numerous rooms infested with bed bugs.  Meanwhile, the public and those who serve the public with travel housing are woefully uninformed.  

 Dr Katelyn Kowles, EA-IPM Lubbock & Crosby and Kate Harrell, EA-IPM Wharton, Matagorda, & Jackson doing what it takes to prevent bed bugs from spreading to their homes once they were found in their hotel rooms.  Photo- Dr. Pat Porter.

                Luckily for us, not so luckily for her, one of the first to confirm bed bugs in their room was our newly minted IPM Agent for Lubbock and Crosby Counties, Dr. Katelyn Kowles.  It was already going to be difficult for the hotel to quietly get around the problem and deal with the issue once we checked out with so many of us being qualified entomologist.  They had little chance with Dr. Kowles who is fresh off her post-doctorate work in bed bugs with the University of Kentucky.  Dr. Kowles handled the situation beautifully.  She checked each room before settling in (it took four tries to find a bed bug free room), made sure the hotel took care of their responsibility, and before the dust had settled, properly trained the hotel staff in detection and treatment options. 

                With this fresh experience behind me, and with so many traveling this spring, I thought it would be a good idea for Dr. Kowles to share her ‘expert’ expertise.  The following is what Dr. Kowles suggests to scout for bed bugs when checking in or staying over which we all do to help control the spread of bed bugs to your home because, they do like to travel home with you!

Tips for Travelers: Scouting for Bed Bugs

How to scout your hotel room for bed bugs:

1.      Don’t put any belongings on the bed or unpack before you complete your inspection. I put my luggage on the luggage rack (usually in the closets of most rooms) or in the bathroom until I have checked for bed bugs.

2.      Things you are looking for:

·         actual bed bugs

·         shed skin of immature bugs

·         dark brown fecal spots (dried excrement)

Adult bed bugs are approximately a quarter of an inch long and red-brown with oval, flattened bodies. Immature bed bugs are smaller versions of the adults, but with a much lighter color and approximately the size of a pinhead.

3.      Begin with a preliminary check around the room. Focus on the corners of ceilings and the baseboards.

4.      Remove the corners of the fitted sheet and look underneath the mattress and box spring. Examine the mattress seams and crevices in the box spring. Pay special attention to head of the bed. Most cell phones have a flashlight that is very useful for this!

5.      You should also inspect crevices in the bed frame. This is especially important if the bed frame is wood!

6.      If there is a removable headboard, remove it from the wall and inspect the crevices on the back. This is a common place for bed bug infestations to begin. If you have never done this before, make sure you have two people to remove it safely.

7.      Other things that can be inspected include behind picture frames or couches and chairs. But limit your search to items near the bed!

What to do if your hotel room has bed bugs:

1.      Call the front desk and request a new room. Problems are usually contained in a particular area, so try to get a room in a different area.

2.      Quarantine all your belongings in garbage bags (or something similar), especially if they were on/near the bed or if you experienced bites.

3.      Put everything that is safe for laundering in a dryer at high heat for at least 45 minutes. DO NOT wash first! A washing machine does not typically get hot enough to kill all the bugs. After you have dried everything, then you can resume a normal washing routine.

4.      Keep your luggage/anything that can’t be laundered in a closed garbage bag until you can treat it. Contact your local pest control company for how to do this.

Important facts about bed bugs:

·         Bed bugs feed only on the blood of animals and spend most of their time where they can get a reliable blood meal from their host. In the case of hotel rooms, this is near the bed. Only when they are very hungry, or there is a bad infestation, will you find them in other places.

·         Bed bugs do not transmit diseases when they bite. Every person reacts differently, ranging from mild irritation and itching to large, red welts. Some reactions are delayed and occur days or even weeks after the bite.

·         Bed bug bites are usually painless so people don’t always realize they are being bitten. Any exposed skin is vulnerable, such as arms, legs, face, or neck. Bed bugs will typically make several bites at time, often in a short line.

·         Bed bugs are mostly active at night and can go months without a blood meal. Therefore, ignoring a problem and hoping that they starve is not a reliable solution.

·         There has been a global resurgence in bed bugs over the last decade and eradicating an infestation can be time-consuming and expensive. Taking pro-active measures when you’re traveling to avoid bringing them home is always worth it!  

Thanks Katelyn!

Blayne Reed