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Articles by Pat Porter
Texas A&M Potato Breeding Program highlights market, varietal expansions
The Potato Expo, set for Jan. 10-11 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, is the largest annual potato industry conference and trade show held in North America. Vales said a significant advancement in the past few years is a potato clone, COTX08063-2Ru, that produces excellent french fries and can be grown in Texas. Until then, no other clone could do so because high temperatures in Texas typically resulted in tubers with low starch that are unsuitable for the french fry market.
Texas Wheat: Early Planting - Insect, Disease Vector Management Suggestions
With rains finally blessing the High Plains area, and with grain prices rising, many producers will likely want to take advantage of the soil moisture for wheat establishment right away. It has been so dry for so long in our semi-arid region we certainly recommend taking advantage of moisture opportunities, especially for dryland acres. The seed availability issues of this year aside, crop establishment is always the first major hurdle in Texas High Plains wheat production.
West Texas Cotton: Insect Pest Guesses for This Strange Growing Season
As we begin this growing season where most of us have not had appreciable rain in over 200 days, it might be useful to review what things look like on the pest insect front. Of course there is no way to know what will happen and I don’t have a crystal ball. Here is what it looks like through the bottom of a Dr. Pepper bottle. Overwintering Our winter was fairly mild, so we did not get high insect mortality from deep and sudden cold.
Kirk Ferentz's decision to disband advisory committee an unfortunate step backwards
By Pat Harty IOWA CITY, Iowa – David Porter has put his reputation on the line for what he believes is a just and noble cause to create a more inclusive culture within the Iowa football program. The former Iowa offensive lineman will undoubtedly feel the wrath and resentment of some Iowa fans now that his request that Kirk Ferentz should retire was made public in an article that was published by the Cedar Rapids Gazette Sunday morning. Porter made the request in a chain of messages on Jan.
Seed Treatments: Are They Really Necessary?
Soybean seed treatments. Photo: Ohio State University We live in a time of fake news; coverage designed to mislead and advocate one viewpoint. No, I don’t need any scientific citations to back this claim up; we all know it is true. I’m writing tonight to bring a very balanced and well-referenced article to your attention, one that deals with the benefits and downsides of the seed treatments put on our corn, cotton, soybean and other seed.
West Texas Corn, Sorghum: Massive Fall Armyworm Flight According to Traps
Fall armyworm. Photo: Jim Kalisch, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Corn and sorghum withstood our severe weather quite well this spring, and most fields got a good start. The first cloud is now on the horizon because fall armyworm pheromone trap captures are unusually high; 7.7x the 10 year average. The graphic below shows this year’s captures and the 10-year average for my traps at the Lubbock Research and Extension Center.
Corn Rootworm Control with Friendly Nematodes, Online Presentation Feb. 18
Western Corn Rootworm Photo: Purdue University Texas A&M Extension Entomology has been conducting a joint research project with Dr. Elson Shields from Cornell University for the last four years. We have shown that persistent, insect-killing nematodes (that are harmless to plants) have the ability to lower corn root damage whether the crop is Bt or non-Bt. And these nematodes persist for many years and just keep killing, even across crop rotations.
EPA proposal could drastically change Bt cotton resistance management
• By Pat Porter • A bollworm feeds on a cotton boll — photo courtesy Texas A&M AgriLife Research My recent post discussed the proposal by Environmental Protection Agency to drastically change the resistance management regulations around Bt corn and cotton. You can submit a comment here before Nov. 9. The proposal is hard to find on the EPA website, so I have reposted it here.
Bt Corn: Phaseout of Most Hybrids Proposed
My recent post discussed the proposal by EPA to drastically change the resistance management regulations around Bt corn and cotton. You can submit a comment here before November 9th. The proposal is hard to find on the EPA website, so I have reposted it here. Part of the plan is to phase out all single toxin Bt corn hybrids within three years, and all pyramid (multi-toxin) hybrids that do not contain Vip3a within five years.
Bt Corn: Tighter EPA Regulations Are Pending
This week the EPA released a draft plan that essentially overhauls many of the regulations around insect resistance management (IRM) in Bt crops grown in the “cotton belt”. There are many major changes proposed, one of which is that field failures are presumed to be cases of “practical resistance” if certain criteria are met.
EPA proposes sweeping changes to Bt crops in the Cotton Belt
• By Pat Porter • Corn earworm/cotton bollworm has become resistance to all but one Bt toxin.As a result, the EPA is proposing sweeping changes to insect resistance management to Bt corn planted in the Cotton Belt — photo courtesy Mississippi State University This week, the Environmental Protection Agency released a draft plan that essentially overhauls many of the regulations around insect resistance management in Bt crops grown in the Cotton Belt.
West Texas Cotton: Why Did We Have Fewer Bollworms This Year?
Bollworm attacking green cotton boll. Photo: North Carolina State University Dr. Suhas Vyavhare and I are conducting a very detailed experiment this year on some aspects of Bt corn. Part of the experiment involves putting 120 emergence cages on the ground under corn after corn earworm larvae (cotton bollworms) have left the corn ears and entered the soil for pupation. This lets us determine the number of moths being produced per square foot or acre under actual field conditions.
Bollworms/acre from corn (or why W. Texas had fewer bollworms this year)
• By Pat Porter • Corn earworm feeding on corn — photo by Pat Porter Dr. Suhas Vyavhare and I are conducting a very detailed experiment this year on some aspects of Bt corn. Part of the experiment involves putting 120 emergence cages on the ground under corn after corn earworm larvae (cotton bollworms) have left the corn ears and entered the soil for pupation. This lets us determine the number of moths being produced per square foot or acre under actual field conditions.
West Texas Sorghum: Sugarcane Aphids Make Appearance
Sugarcane aphids on sorghum leaf. Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kay Ledbetter I found sugarcane aphid colonies on post-flowering sorghum today at the Experiment Station in Lubbock. An independent crop consultant reported to Blayne Reed this afternoon that he had just found some in Hale County, about 6 miles northwest of Abernathy. So here we go.
Corn: Know What You’re Buying in Your Hybrids - Handy Bt Trait Table Updated
Photo: Kansas State University The 2020 version of the Handy Bt Trait Table has just been published. This two-page quick reference guide lists the Bt and herbicide packages in all US field corn in an easy to follow manner. It also lists the pests the corn claims to control and those that have developed resistance to the trait packages. This year’s changes include a discussion of finding European corn borer resistance to Cry1F corn in Canada.
Obituary: Jerry Earl Moomey
Jerry Moomey Jerry Earl Moomey March 9, 1936 ~ Sept. 15, 2019 Jerry Earl Moomey passed away onSept. 15,2019, at his home in Meeker, Colorado. He was the eldest son of Harry F. Sr.and Mary Mercedece Sapp Moomey, born March 9, 1936, in Eldorado, Butler County, Kansas. Jerry served in the United States Army in Korea, and was also stationed in Germany. He married Goldia Brenton on Oct. 14, 1963 and again on July 15, 1988 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
West Texas IPM: Sugarcane Aphids Arrive; Large Fall Armyworm Flight
Sugarcane aphids on sorghum leaf. Texas A&M AgriLife photo by Kay Ledbetter Small colonies of sugarcane aphids have been found on grain sorghum in Lubbock and Hale counties in the last two days. Greg Cronholm, Independent Crop Consultant in Hale County, texted last night and reported finding a few small colonies. I found some today on blooming sorghum on the Experiment Station in Lubbock. Scouting and management guidelines are here.
Texas Bt Corn: Resistance in Rootworms - What Can You Do?
The August 25th edition of this newsletter discussed how our mCry3a Bt corn was no longer able to control western corn rootworm in an area from Hart, Texas, north to the top of the Panhandle. In that newsletter, even though we were seeing all of the classic signs of resistance, I used the term “probable resistance”, only because our laboratory assays on field collected beetles will not be completed until next year.
Bt Corn: Single Toxin Varieties Withdrawing from Market
Bt Corn: Single Toxin Varieties Withdrawing from Market Posted on November 15, 2018 By Pat Porter, Texas AgriLife Extension Entomoligst Dr. Chris DiFonzo, Entomologist at Michigan State University and author of the Handy Bt Trait Table, and I got a note from a corn seed dealer a couple of weeks ago concerning the removal of some single toxin Bt corn hybrids from the market after 2019.
Texas Corn: Bt Toxin and Corn Rootworm Resistance - Diminished Value is Still Value
Root masses and ears in corn hybrids that had no corn rootworm Bt (left) and compromised mCry3a Bt (right), Hart, Texas, 9/4/2018. Photo: Texas A&M AgriLife We are entering a time when insects have become resistant to many of the Bt toxins in our GMO corn and cotton. This is the first in a series of articles where I will discuss what this might mean in terms of crop damage and the value of the Bt technologies.
Texas Panhandle: Corn Rootworm Show ‘Probable Resistance’ to Some Bt
There were a crazy lot of western corn rootworm beetles emerging from continuous corn fields this summer in the Texas Panhandle, and with seed purchase decisions on the horizon it might be a good idea to talk about Bt resistance. For two years now, Dr. Ed Bynum, Extension Entomologist in Amarillo, and I have seen extensive damage to Bt corn with the toxin mCry3a. These fields have been found in the zone from Dalhart in the north to Hart in the south.
Texas Panhandle: Bt Corn - What’s Up With All the Corn Earworms?
There are large numbers of corn earworm larvae in Bt corn ears in the Texas Panhandle, and some people are spraying in an attempt to control them. Corn earworm is usually an ear tip feeder, and on its own is seldom an economic pest of corn. However, this year we are seeing earworms doing more than just tip damage, and feeding lower in the ear. The reason(s) for this change in behavior are unknown.
Texas Sorghum: Sugarcane Aphid Arrives on Southern High Plains - UPDATE
Blayne Reed 7/12 – A quick update to the sugarcane aphid population watch. Yesterday I did find and confirm the aphid in northwestern Hale County on seed milo. The population was what I would consider very light and not at our High Plains SCA treatment thresholds yet. Less than 5% of these early bloom stage plants in this field had small colonies of 20 or less sca on them.
Texas Sorghum: Sugarcane Aphid Arrives on Southern High Plains
Kerry Siders, EA-IPM in Hockley, Cochran and Lamb counties, just reported that Danny Quisenberry, a crop consultant, found sugarcane aphids on older grain sorghum four miles north of Earth in northern Lamb County. Additionally, Greg Cronholm, a private crop consultant, just reported sugarcane aphids on sorghum in southern Castro County. Neither of these populations is at a treatable level, just small colonies on isolated plants at present.
West Texas IPM: Sustained High Numbers of Fall Armyworm Moths
This week’s fall armyworm pheromone trap graph appears below. The 7-year average for this week of June is 110 moths per week. This week’s capture was 707. This does not appear to be a phenomenon confined to the Lubbock Research Center, as Katelyn Kesheimer, EA-IPM in Lubbock and Crosby counties, reported several hundred moths in the Crosby County traps she operates.
West Texas Corn, Sorghum: Fall Armyworm Numbers Spike
It is mid-June, and I am pleased to report that there have not been any serious insect problems in corn and sorghum yet. Well, let me temper this by saying that the drought has brought plenty of problems outside the entomological realm. Wireworms have been a problem in spotty areas, but for the most part seed treatments have kept them in check. Corn in the area is approaching V6 – V8, and sorghum is anywhere from V5 to still in the bag.
Texas: Sugarcane Aphid - Consider the Entire Texas High Plains Infested
Sugarcane aphid colony on underside of sorghum leaf. Photo by Dr. Mo Way In the last few days there have been reports of sugarcane aphids in many new counties on the Texas High Plains, and most of these recent reports are from fields at sub-economic levels. Fields in counties reported as infested ten days to two weeks ago are now exceeding the treatment threshold in many places.
Texas Sorghum: 9 Short Sugarcane Aphid Management Videos for the High Plains
A colony of sugarcane aphid on the underside of a sorghum leaf. Photo: Dr. Mo Way, Texas AgriLife 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.
Texas Grain Sorghum: Sugarcane Aphid Resistance Confirmed In 14 Hybrids
Extension Entomologist Dr. Allen Knutson has released a list of sugarcane aphid resistant sorghum hybrids. The entries are based on multiple years of replicated field trials by AgriLife personnel Robert Bowling, John Gordy, Danielle Sekula, Mike Brewer and Allen Knutson. It should be noted that none of these trials are from the High Plains. The remainder of this article is quoted directly from Dr. Knutson’s document.
Transform sugarcane aphid Section 18 granted For Texas
Texas A&M AgriLife has 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. This is good news in that the state now has 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.
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