Fighting Roundup-Resistant Pigweed? Remember Wheat Restrictions.

The battle against Roundup resistant Palmer pigweed had what may be an overlooked consequence for farmers this fall: carryover problems in fields where they might want to plant wheat.

Larry Steckel, University of Tennessee Weed Scientist, posted a reminder about that in this week's IPM Newsletter.

"There have been a number of calls about planting wheat this fall after using fomesafen containing herbicides (Prefix, Reflex, Flexstar GT or Flexstar) this spring and summer, " Steckel reported. "The labels say that recrop back to small grains after a fomesafen application is 4 months. I would expect some wheat establishment problems from fomesafen applications made this July for wheat sowed in October or early November. This was not an issue 2 years ago but is another repercussion of trying to manage glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth."

New Species Of Turtle Identified In Pearl River Of Louisiana And Mississippi

I live on Mill Creek in Rankin County, Mississippi, and about 2 miles downstream from where I'm typing right now the creek enters the Pearl River, albeit the Ross Barnett Reservoir impoundment.

So, the following article from the U.S. Geological Survey immediately caught my attention...

A new species of turtle no bigger than a small dinner plate has been discovered, bringing the number of native turtle species in the U.S. to 57.

The Pearl River map turtle, discovered by scientists from the U.S. Geological Survey, is found only in the Pearl River in Louisiana and Mississippi. It is a relict of sea-level fluctuations between glacial and interglacial periods over 10,000 years ago, which isolated map turtles in different rivers along the Gulf Coast. Eventually, the turtles evolved into unique species confined to a single river system.

USGS scientists Josh Ennen and Jeff Lovich said the turtle, whose new scientific name is Graptemys pearlensis, had previously been confused with another turtle species in a nearby river, the Pascagoula map turtle.

Like the Pascagoula map turtle, the Pearl River map turtle is a native freshwater reptile that lives in large rivers to medium-sized streams. Females are much larger than males, measuring between 6 and 11 inches as adults, and use large crushing surfaces on their jaws to open clams. Males, meanwhile, grow to a comparatively puny 4 to 6 inches and eat some mollusks, but mostly insects and fish.

The discovery, published in Chelonian Conservation and Biology, is a reminder that there are still exciting discoveries to be made – and one doesn’t necessarily have to go far to make them, said Ennen.

“We don’t know as much as we sometimes think we do,” said Ennen. “When people think about discovery and new species, they think of rainforests, or unexplored and isolated countries. Coming from southern Mississippi, I basically found this turtle in my own backyard.”

Ennen discovered the species while doing other research on Graptemys species in the region for his Ph.D. dissertation. “The Pascagoula River map turtle was one of the only map turtle species believed to occur in two major drainages. I thought it was strange that it was such an anomaly. My professors, Brian Kreiser and Carl Qualls at the University of Southern Mississippi, encouraged me to look further, so I started doing genetic research on the turtles from the Pearl River and the turtles from the Pascagoula River.”

Once he started finding significant genetic differences between the two turtles, Ennen called USGS scientist Jeff Lovich onto the scene. Lovich had found, described and named the last two turtle species – also of the genus Graptemys – discovered in the United States in 1992. During his own research in the 80’s, Lovich had noticed subtle differences between the turtles in each river, but had not thought they were different species. “Josh asked me to reanalyze my data on color and the way the turtles look to combine with the genetic data,” Lovich said.

Altogether, the data was enough to make it plain: the Pearl River map turtle and the Pascagoula River map turtle are definitely two different species. The genetic data was clear on this, though the visual differences are more subtle -- one of the most obvious is the Pearl River map turtle sports a continuous black stripe down its back whereas the Pascagoula map turtle has a broken black stripe.

Lovich and Ennen are both excited about the discovery of a new turtle species, but think “it could be a long time before another one is discovered.”

LSU Carved In Rice

LSU sculpted in purple and gold rice, the school's colors.

Louisiana State University has always had a small but important marketing advantage...

Here it is:

No other state begins with the letter L.

That may not seem important, but it's allowed the university's initials to stand alone, uniquely perhaps, to the point that some fairly educated people outside of Louisiana know it as "LSU" without immediately being able to tell you what the initials stand for.

No kidding, a friend in California asked me once if "the S in LSU was for state or something else?"

He did know, without a doubt, that LSU was in Louisiana, which gets us back to this small marketing advantage it has over other universities.

Take MSU, for example...

Which is it? Mississippi State University, Michigan State University, Minnesota State University?

The same goes for ASU. Is it Arizona State or Arkansas State?

When you think about it, only a handful of states have names that begin with an exclusive letter. For example, only Florida starts with an F, only Georgia begins with G.

But the initials UF or UG - for those respective universities - have never gained the same panache as the 3-letter string, LSU. It sounds almost lyrical. Let me add that I didn't attend LSU, didn't send any kids to school there and have never pulled for its football team. I'm not an aging alumnus, just a guy who enjoys playing with words and poking around in their symbolism.

For me, LSU simply has a ring to it. And the initials are loaded with symbolism.

Which made the landscaping in this photo possible. It's the name LSU spelled out in purple and gold rice, the university's colors. It would have taken a while to spell out Mississippi State University with a grain drill, and forming the letters MSU or UA wouldn't have had the same visual punch. And, lest we forget, rice is Louisiana's staple food. It permeates the cuisine, giving foundation to spices and crustaceans, sausage and red beans.

"This living sign is growing on the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station in Crowley," writes Steve Linscombe, the station's director and a rice breeder, himself.

Linscombe sent us the photo of the sign with additional facts about it.

The purple rice was developed by Dr. Kenneth Gravois, now LSU AgCenter Sugarcane Specialist, while he was working as a rice breeder with the University of Arkansas. The gold leaf line, Linscombe said, is an induced mutant that was obtained from seed at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center in Stuttgart, Arkansas.

As signs go, it perhaps is unique. And it's also edible.

- Owen Taylor

Corn Irrigation Webinars From The Land Of Center Pivots

The University of Nebraska has released a series of webinars on corn irrigation.

The series delves into the science of maximizing corn yields and also addresses the variability that growers deal with in terms of rainfall patterns, soil types and such. While the focus is on center-pivot irrigation, the webinars provide insight that also would be helpful to growers who furrow-irrigate their corn.

Here are the links:

• Soil Water Monitoring Part One — A Key to Applying the Optimum Amount of Irrigation
  
• Soil Water Monitoring Part Two — Equipment Preparation and Installation
  
• Soil Water Monitoring Part Three — Data Analysis and Irrigation Scheduling

- Owen Taylor

Rice farmers in the Philippines will get fertilizer advice via text messages

Farmers in the  Philippines will soon have nutrient management advice tailored specifically to their rice crops, and the info will be delivered to their mobile phones, according to an article in Rice Today, pulbished by the International Rice Research Institute, based in the Philippines.
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Dr. Roland Buresh says that after responding to a series of simple questions about their rice paddy, farmers would receive an automated text reply recommending what amounts, sources, and timings of fertilizer are needed for profitable rice production in their paddy. Buresh is part of the IRRI team that joined the Philippine Department of Agriculture to develop the system.

Residents in the Philippines have widely adopted text messaging as a regular means of communications, and it is known in the telecom industry as the "text messaging capital of the world." It was one of the first countries with affordable texting, and the average Filipino cell-phone subscriber sends 10 text messages a day.

- Owen Taylor

Diesel Prices Edge Down More Than 3 Cents A Gallon

The national average highway price for diesel fuel declined more than three cents to $2.92 per gallon, $0.33 above the price a year ago.

• All regions registered price decreases.
• The East Coast fell over three cents to $2.94 per gallon while the Gulf Coast decreased almost three cents to $2.87 per gallon.
• The largest decline took place in the Midwest where the average fell four cents to $2.89 per gallon.
• The Rocky Mountain price was nearly three cents lower at $2.93 per gallon.
• The average on the West Coast slipped two cents to $3.08 per gallon while the price in California dipped 1.5 cents to $3.13 per gallon.

Dropping for the first time in three weeks, the U.S. average price for regular gasoline fell three cents to $2.73 per gallon.

• The national average was $0.11 higher than last year. Regionally, average prices slipped in all sections of the country.
• The averages on the East Coast and on the Gulf Coast dropped about three cents each to $2.67 per gallon and $2.58 per gallon, respectively.
• The largest drop took place in the Midwest where the average slumped more than a nickel to $2.68 per gallon.
• The average in the Rocky Mountains declined a penny to $2.76 per gallon.
• The West Coast price slipped half a cent to settle at $3.05 per gallon and the average in California fell a penny to $3.12 per gallon.

DTN articles examine immigration and its important to the ag labor force

This week we published a series of four DTN articles related to immigrants and the ag industry. Certainly immigration, whether legal or not, has changed the face of who actually will do the day-to-day hard work in rural areas of the country. The series, written by Chris Clayton, gives an overview from the farmer's perspective as well as the issues faced by the unskilled immigrant who wants to work.

The series opener, features the northeast region of Alabama known as Sand Mountain where Hispanics fill the jobs provided by the poultry industry. Mexican restaurants and Guatemalan bakeries have popped up in these communities where racial tensions are just below the surface.

Part 2 explores the difficult process of getting legal for unskilled farm labor even when the jobs are available.

The next article looks at a study of the Wisconsin dairy industry and it's reliance on Hispanic employees. One dairy owner credits a strong work ethic and a willingness to work long hours forces his dependence on the immigrant labor force.

The final article examines politics and policy, and how that fits with immigrant workers and the future of the ag industry labor force.

Fertilizer Prices - Hold Onto Your Hats, Boys!

The International Fertilizer Industry Association (IFA) released publicly today its Fertilizer Outlook 2010 - 2014 .

The report highlights that, after a gloomy year in 2009, fertilizer demand is seen firmly rebounding in 2010 and growing at sustained rates in the next four years. On the fertilizer supply side, the growth of capacity is slower than anticipated last year because of numerous delays in announced projects. However, in the long-term, a potential supply surplus for nitrogen (N) and potassium (K) fertilizers can be expected due to a faster increase in capacity compared to that of demand.

After two consecutive bumper crops, it is anticipated that the 2010 world cereal output will reach a new record of 2.28 billion metric tonnes (Bt), according to FAO. With world cereal utilization seen at some 2.25 Bt, global grain stocks would remain unchanged and relatively low at the end of the 2010/11 marketing campaign. In response to relatively stable supply/demand conditions since the beginning of 2009, international cereal prices have remained fairly constant, above pre-crisis levels.

A return to more stable crop prices is making it less risky for farmers to invest in fertilizers than a year ago, resulting in a more rapid recovery in phosphate (P) and potassium (K) demand than had been foreseen.

In the medium term, increasing agricultural production will be required to meet global demand for food, feed, fibre and bioenergy.

Yield gains are expected to contribute to most of the output growth, as scope for expanding cultivated land in the next five years is limited and sustainable intensification of the currently cultivated land is the best option for mitigating climate change and preserving biodiversity.

Meeting increasing demand for agricultural products and reducing the environmental footprint of farming will require both greater and more efficient fertilizer use.

With the progressive economic recovery and a return to more favourable and more stable agricultural market conditions, world fertilizer demand in 2010/11 is forecast to increase by 4.8% over 2009/10 to 170.4 million metric tonnes (Mt) nutrients.

Demand for N, P and K fertilizers is seen growing by 1.9%, 4.5% and 18%, respectively. The positive agricultural market fundamentals over the medium term are expected to stimulate world fertilizer demand, which is projected to reach 188.3 Mt in 2014/15. The bulk of the increase in demand would come from Asia and, to a lesser extent, from the Americas.

Regarding fertilizer production, the conditions in the global fertilizer market stabilized in 2009, as fertilizer demand started to recover by mid-year in the main consuming countries. However, total sales and production dropped to levels unprecedented for more than a decade due to important inventory carry-overs in worldwide distribution systems. Global capacity increased in key exporting regions, but at modest rates compared with those of the previous years.

Capacity growth in the short to medium term is seen as expanding at a slower pace than projected in 2009. Delays and some cancellations have reduced the announced expansion of capacity and the commissioning of new projects by 6 to 24 months. However, interest in investing in the fertilizer sector appears unabated.

In the past year, several new projects have been announced for the near term since many countries continue to promote new capacity and to foster self-sufficiency. A wave of mergers and acquisitions has characterized the restructuring of the sector over the past 12 months. It is anticipated that this trend will continue in the short term. Energy prices, government policies and environmental regulations have the potential to influence future global fertilizer supply. The mid-term market perspectives vary from one product to another:

• In the nitrogen sector, much of the increase in ammonia capacity is associated with new urea capacity, which is forecast to grow by 51.3 Mt, or 30% over 2009, to reach 222 Mt in 2014. The forecast sees a large potential urea surplus, accelerating after 2012, if all the announced projects are realized according to their respective schedule. The global nitrogen supply/demand balance would show a potential surplus of close to 4.7 Mt N in 2010 accelerating to 16.7 Mt N in 2014.
   
• In the phosphate sector, the global capacity for the main processed phosphate fertilizers is projected to be 42.3 Mt P2O5 in 2014, representing a net increase of 8.2 Mt P2O5 over 2009. Over the next five years, close to 40 new MAP, DAP and TSP units are expected to be constructed in ten countries. Expansion of DAP capacity would account for three-quarters of this increase. While major DAP capacity expansions will be taking place, it was projected that demand growth would absorb most of this new capacity through 2014.
   
• In the potash sector, global sales collapsed in 2009 as major carry-over stocks were available in several consuming countries. However, a strong rebound in demand and moderate capacity growth should be picking up in the short term. Widespread interest in new potash capacity has been witnessed in 2010 with close to 100 projects being carried out in about 25 countries. Potash balances show a sustained surplus through 2014 but the expected growth in capacity is likely to be absorbed by the forecast increase in demand.

In the short term, world supply/demand conditions are expected to include resilient annual potential surpluses of phosphate rock, potash and urea due to the emergence of large capacity in the main exporting regions. Over the next five years, market conditions for phosphate fertilizers, notably DAP, merchant phosphoric acid, merchant ammonia and sulphur, are seen as relatively balanced due to firm demand growth and a gradual increase in capacity.

Over the period 2009 to 2014, global trade will expand by 15 to 33%, depending on the nutrient products and regions. In the medium term, the industry is taking the necessary measures to provide the fertilizer supply needed by farmers worldwide.

Flaring Spider Mites In Cotton: Rating Your Chances

Entomologists frequently warn against using hard chemistry that might flare spider mites, an admonition we're hearing quite a bit this summer. With all the heat, spider mites are present on a wide basis and hitting treatment levels in portions of both the Delta and Southeast.

Phillip Roberts, Georgia Extension Entomologist, delved into spider mites in this week's Georgia Cotton Pest Management Newsletter. In his discussion, he touched on the subject of flaring and also included a chart that rates the potential flaring effects of various chemistries.

"Recently, 22 cotton entomologist representing 14 states across the cotton belt responded to a survey on insecticide performance in cotton," Roberts said, explaining the origin of the chart. "In addition to rating efficacy on of insecticides on individual pests, entomologists were asked to rate the risk of flaring spider mites."

CLICK HERE for an enlarged view.

Southern Rust For 2010: The Map Tells It All

Southern rust in corn has made a big showing in the South this year, as the map (below) shows. We pulled this off of USDA's crop disease site this morning, then realized that it does not include at least one confirmed find in Tennessee.