Six individuals and three teams won top honors during the LSU AgCenter’s Annual Conference Dec. 18-19, 2006.

Since 2000, nearly 450 pest control operators and technicians have completed two days of either basic or master training programs on treating for termites and other wood-destroying insects at the Lois Caffey Termite Training Center at the LSU AgCenter in Baton Rouge.

The following eight articles appeared in the winter 2007 issue of Louisiana Agriculture in "What's New?"

The following news articles appeared in the fall 2007 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.

The following news articles appeared in the summer 2007 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.

The following eight articles appeared in the spring 2007 issue of Louisiana Agriculture in "What's New?"

After more than 80 years of service to the fruit and vegetable growers in Southeast Louisiana, the LSU AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station has a new initiative.

Farmers Dan Bedgood and Erick Cherene of Madison Parish have a quick answer when asked to describe the upcoming 2007 growing season in North Louisiana. “A lot of corn,” they say in unison.

The dynamic of raising soybeans has changed forever with the discovery of Asian soybean rust in the United States in 2004. LSU AgCenter scientists aggressively monitor for any sign of the disease and pursue a rigorous research program to look for solutions to this problem.

When he first went to work at the LSU AgCenter’s Northeast Research Station in St. Joseph, 15-year-old Roger Leonard expected it to be just a summer job during high school. What it turnedout to be, however, was the first step in a career that found him being named in 2006 the Jack Hamilton Chair in Cotton Production in the LSU AgCenter.

A sugarcane-based biorefinery has been discussed for many years at the Audubon Sugar Institute. In the past few years funding has become available and work has started in earnest.

The LSU AgCenter is carrying out a unique program to help ameliorate and prevent obesity in Louisiana's children. The program is called Smart Bodies and is occurring in schools across the state.

Individual livestock producers have been using animal identification for decades. But not until recently has the need for a more comprehensive, coordinated national animal identification and tracking system been recognized.

Louisiana rice producers have approved five-year renewals of checkoff fees on their crops to fund research and promotion.

More than 135 private landowners, loggers and forest industry leaders participated in the LSU AgCenter’s Central Louisiana Forestry Forum on Jan. 30, 2007,to learn about the challenges still facing the industry more than a year after hurricanes Katrina and Rita.

Corn is the cheapest feedstock for ethanol production in the United States. Sugarcane has potential. The article provides information on ethanol production costs and discusses what needs to be done for sugarcane to become a viable option.

An independent lab has determined that rice seed for sale this year by the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station is free of Liberty Link, according to Steve Linscombe, the station director.

A bill pending in Congress will permit the domestic sale of baby turtles in the United States, which would be a big economic boost for Louisiana.

With the 2007 farm bill on the horizon, speakers at the 2007 AgOutlook conference in Baton Rouge on Jan. 23, 2007, talked about issues the new bill may involve as it makes its way through Congress this year.

For more than two decades there was uncertainty about the cause of a common disease among pecan trees referred to as leaf scorch. LSU AgCenter researchers were able to distinguish the cause of the disease, which has improved pecan production.

Alligator processors in Louisiana annually generate about 175,000 pounds of wild alligator bones and connective tissues and more than 1 million pounds of farm-raised alligator bones and associated materials. Although these materials are discarded, they could be the source of a valuable product – collagen.

In the 70-some years since rural Louisianians first gathered turtle eggs, generally along railroad rights-of-way through swamps, and sold the hatchlings as pets, the turtle industry in Louisiana has experienced a roller coaster ride that may be at its lowest point. But legislation has been introduced that may boost the turtle industry in Louisiana from a $5 million business to a $300 million business.

Annual vinca, also referred to as periwinkle by many home gardeners and industry professionals, is one of the best-selling bedding plants in the Southeastern United States. LSU AgCenter researchers are working to prevent on the diseases that plagues this plant, leaf spot.

Any way to add value to rice can be of great benefit to Louisiana’s rice industry. One of the targets for research by the LSU AgCenter is broken rice kernels. From this otherwise value-less product, a valuable food additive can be made – resistant starch.

The 21st century has provided producers with a number of technological advances that affect all aspects of cotton production. Both Liberty Link and Roundup Ready Flex offer the potential to be used as highly effective alternate weed control systems in a weed-resistance management program.

The traditional farming practice for cotton in the South for 200 years was to produce one summer crop per year following winter fallow. Now, year-round systems with summer crops of cotton, corn, soybeans or grain sorghum and winter crops of wheat, rye or vetch are considered best management practices (BMPs) and protect surface water quality from soil and nutrient losses.

In recent years, reports of high yield potential and the advantages of an early harvest have created interest in early planting of soybeans in Louisiana. Little research information is available on the responses of Maturity Group (MG) V soybeans to early planting dates.

Jim Griffin, Lee Mason LSU Alumni Association Professor inthe School of Plant, Environmental and Soil Sciences, received the Weed Science Society of America Outstanding Research Award at the Society’s annual meeting held in San Antonio, Texas, in February 2007.

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine Winter 2007

Mosquitoes in Louisiana may interfere with enjoyment of the outdoors almost any time of year. Yet, if you understand how mosquitoes live and multiply, you have a better chance of controlling their larval development sites and reducing their numbers.

The first step in successfully dealing with insect-related problems, whether in urban or agricultural settings, is identifying the organisms.

On Aug. 29, 2005, when Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, floodwaters from storm surge and breached levees inundated New Orleans and surrounding areas with salt water. The red imported fire ant, a flood-adapted species originally from the Paraguay River flood plain in South America, was suppressed and in some cases eradicated. Many native ant species also were eradicated or their populations suppressed.

The Argentine ant is an exotic species brought to New Orleans from South America in the late 1800s. Historically, populations have been high in many areas of Louisiana, and for unknown reasons the populations have been expanding in the past 10 years.

In western Louisiana from Lake Charles all the way north of Lucky in Bienville Parish, a common site near roads and open areas are “towns” of small crater-shaped soil piles with large red ants busily moving particles of soil.

Collecting and studying Formosan subterranean termites from their native China may help entomologists find new ways of combating these invasive pests in the United States.

The Formosan subterranean termite has global economic impact as an urban pest. The nesting and feeding habits of this invasive pest leave many factors of its biology literally hidden in the dark.

In many ways plants and insects are intimately related. Possibly the most widely appreciated is the 150 million-year-old mutual dependence of flowering plants and honey bees. Without honey bees, many of our crops would not be pollinated.

The invasive Formosan subterranean termite is destructive to Louisiana trees. The insect eats the centers of living trees and builds carton nests inside them.

Although his title is entomologist his mission is a harmonious environment. Dale Pollet may well be one of the most popular people in Louisiana. That’s because he knows every bug in the state and what to do about them. And Louisiana has a lot of bugs.

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine Fall 2007.pdf

Following are some facts about insects in the urban environment.

Entomology is one of the LSU AgCenter’s most significant areas of research and outreach. Insect pests can cause devastation to crops and livestock. And insects can wreak havoc at home, too, in the house and in the garden.

A federally funded Formosan subterranean termite pilot test in New Orleans’ French Quarter, known as the French Quarter Program, began in 1998. Featuring various treatments to combat the termites, the program is a partnership among the LSU AgCenter, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service, the New Orleans Mosquito and Termite Control Board, the Audubon Nature Institute and area pest control applicators.

Longtime faculty member Allen Rutherford has been named the new director of the School of Renewable Natural Resources. He took over July 1 , 2007, from William Kelso, who had served as interim director after the retirement of Bob Blackmon in 2005.

Rural Louisiana continues to face significant challenges to improve local economies. For example, one out of every four people in rural Louisiana lives in poverty, and roughly three quarters of all rural parishes have been defined as persistent poverty areas.

Northern Louisiana Rural Development Roundtable Results

It’s not unusual for homeowners to have problems with honey bees, said LSU AgCenter entomologist Dale Pollet. Hives often split, and new swarms go looking for new homes. Sometimes those homes can be in people's walls.

Bee colonies in more than 20 states are collapsing. And honey bees are disappearing because of a mysterious ailment. So far, Louisiana colonies don’t seem to be affected by what is being called “colony collapse disease,” according to LSU AgCenter entomologist Dale Pollet.

Sales of greenhouse tomatoes from the LSU AgCenter’s Red River Research Station’s spring crop topped 65,000 pounds in 2007 – making this the best year ever.

When hurricanes Katrina and Rita came ashore in Louisiana in 2005, they were accompanied by storm surges that inundated vast areas in the southern parishes with salt water.

One new sugarcane variety released earlier this year and two sugarcane varieties released in 2006 were featured along with three new releases of energy cane at the annual field day July 18 at the LSU AgCenter’s Sugar Research Station.

America boasts one of the safest and most plentiful food supplies in the world. Unfortunately, food by nature or by accident is vulnerable to contamination by harmful microbes at any point from the farm to the table.

Beef cattle feed goes through a microbial fermentation process in the rumen before being digested by the animal.Since the majority of the cow’s diet is forage, efficient fermentation of this fiber is critical. Diet supplements provide additional nutrients to improve utilization of the fiber.

Pesticides are used in agriculture to control many different insects, weeds and pathogens that cannot be controlled by other practices, such as planting resistant cultivars, cultural management and biological control.

In 2006, the fungus Cercospora janseana, which causes narrow brown leaf spot, did significant damage to the rice crop in south Louisiana. This disease involves linear, reddish-brown spots that usually appear near heading. These spots are slow to develop, taking up to 30 days from infection. Both young and old leaves are susceptible. Seedheads can become infected, causing premature ripening and unfilled grain.

Jupiter is a high-yielding, early-maturing, short-stature, medium-grain ricevariety developed at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station at Crowley and released for commercial production in 2004. Results from field evaluations conducted in Louisiana from 2002-2006 indicate that Jupiter has good field resistance to bacterial panicle blight, rottenneck blast and sheath blight. Jupiter also appears to be resistant to the physiological disorder straighthead.

At the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station’s annual field day, June 28, 2007, rice breeder Xueyan Sha discussed and displayed ademonstration plot of LA2028, a promising semi-dwarf medium grain experimental line that may be released as foundation seed in 2008.

Louisiana cotton farmers are facing increasing threats from high populations of nematodes – microscopic, parasitic worms that feed on plant roots. Of the two types most common, reniform nematodes are relatively new to the Louisiana delta cotton fields.

The first reported damage by the sugarcane beetle, Euetheola humilis, to crops in the United States was in Louisiana sugarcane plantations during 1880. Since that time, this beetle has been documented as an occasional pest of field corn, rice and more recently sweet potato.

The rice stink bug is the most important late-season insect pest of rice in Louisiana. This insect feeds on rice grains as they develop. Feeding by this insect reduces both grain yield and quality. The rice stink bug is probably present in nearly all rice fields in Louisiana.

Yellow nutsedge is one of the most troublesome and widespread perennial weeds in landscapes and gardens across the coastal plains. This fast-growing weed can be found in nearly all soil types but thrives in irrigated landscape plantings.

While Louisiana faces a short-term healthcare crisis brought about by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, an often-understated, long-term healthcare crisis exists in rural Louisiana.

Cathy Williams was recently designated the Gerald A. Simmons Professor of Dairy Science in the School of Animal Sciences.

More than half of 1 35 Louisiana crawfish ponds tested for White Spot Syndrome Virus so far have shown positive, according to an LSU AgCenter aquaculture expert.

The LSU AgCenter’s dairy farm in Baton Rouge recently reached a milestone in Louisiana agriculture when it recorded the highest rolling herd average milk production ever in the state.

The Louisiana Board of Regents recently approved $28 million for university research to spur hurricane recovery and economic development, including a $915,000 grant to the LSU AgCenter for wetland restoration.

Don’t bother telling Bethany Edler of Iberia Parish that mules are ornery, stubborn and kick hard. She’s heard it all before – and she can prove you wrong.

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Summer 2007

The year was 1957. The New York Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers in the World Series. Actress Grace Kelly married Monaco’s Prince Rainier. And a wildly popular singer named Elvis Presley was causing a sensation with his gyrating hips. Not quite as exciting but certainly significant for Louisiana agriculture that same year was the establishment of a quarterly magazine from the LSU Agricultural Experiment Station.

After an exhilarating airboat ride through the marsh, Keith Espadron of Port Sulphur ambled up to the beach, shell fragments crunching under his feet, and gazed at the muddy shoreline that once was grass-covered marsh. The outing was one of several for 4-H’ers participating in the LSU AgCenter’s Marsh Maneuvers camp at the state’s Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge.

Most people don’t give honey bees much thought, but the honey they produce is an economically important agricultural crop, generating $2.5-$5 million annual sales in Louisiana and $150-$250 million annual sales in the United States.

Some of the plants that helped buffer the southeastern Louisiana coast during hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 were planted by youth groups participating in the LSU Coastal Roots program.

View and download the complete Spring 2007 edition of Louisiana Agriculture Magazine.

Before hurricanes Katrina and Rita, the Citrus Research Stationin Port Sulphur was devoted primarily to research on citrus – mainly Satsuma mandarin and navel oranges – with some limited work on commercial vegetables, other fruits and termites.

A growing awareness of the importance of coastal wetlands to Louisiana’s economy and environment has attracted students with a variety of interests and backgrounds into undergraduate and graduate programs that have traditionally focused on production

Wetland soils are known for their high organic matter. Soil characteristics become one of the major determinants of the types and abundance of plant species that grow there. Reliable information on the status and extent of wetland resources in particular areas can be used to determine the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the soil and on its surface.

Loss of estuarine habitat in Louisiana, which contains 40 percent of the nation’s wetlands, has received national attention because of rapid erosion rates.

At 1,500 acres, New Orleans City Park stretches two miles from Mid-City to Lake Pontchartrain. The LSU AgCenter is helping in its recovery from the devastating effects of Hurricane Katrina.

A large-scale revegetation technique that can restore interior marshes affected by erosion is crucial to successfully reduce of coastal marsh loss in Louisiana.

The development of native plant materials with greater usefulness and enhanced performance in coastal wetland environments is of crucial importance to Louisiana’s efforts to arrest coastal erosion and wetlands habitat loss.

Sea oats (Uniola paniculata) is a native dune plant commonly pictured on tourism pamphlets for beach resorts. This grass species is frequently used for dune restoration and vegetative stabilization projects throughout its native range in the United States.

The application of proven plant breeding methods to enhance the usefulness of native plants for coastal reclamation has tremendous potential.

More than half a billion dollars has been spent in Louisiana in the past two decades on coastal restoration projects ranging from small community-based efforts to large ecosystem-scale programs.

A newly established cooperative of LSU AgCenter scientists is gaining national recognition in the rapidly expanding field of natural resource economics and policy.

Since 1989, more than 600 high school 4-H students from across Louisiana have had the unforgettable experience of a week of walking in marsh mud, swatting mosquitoes and watching the sun rise over the wetlands.

Establishing smooth cordgrass from seeds is a potentially economical and efficient means for coastal stabilization.

Louisiana’s coastal salt marshes, which are dominated by smooth cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora), suffered a catastrophic dieback in 2000. LSU AgCenter scientists are studying possible causes.

Coastal wetland loss has been widespread in Louisiana over the past half century. Restoring freshwater floating marsh offers a way to stem this loss.

Wetland deterioration is a significant environmental problem in coastal Louisiana. Although natural and human induced factors have both been cited as causing wetland loss, many of these effects are mediated through one common agent: sediment availability.

Since the 1930s, about 1,900 square miles, or almost 1 million acres, of wetlands along Louisiana’s coast have been lost. This loss continues at the rate of about 30 square miles per year. The LSU AgCenter brings its expertise in agricultural research to address coastal restoration.

The brown widow spider is becoming more common in Louisiana and a cause for concern, according to Dennis Ring, LSU AgCenter entomologist.

Work by the LSU AgCenter was instrumental in a U.S. Department of Agriculture program that has compensated sugarcane producers with $40 million for losses caused by hurricanes Rita and Katrina.

A group of 21 Oil City Elementary Magnet School fifth graders learned some new words as they toured a wetland project at the LSU AgCenter’s Red River Research Station in Bossier City on April 26, 2007.

The LSU AgCenter took a bold step this year by inaugurating a Youth Wetlands Week – and it was a huge success. During the week of April 16-20, more than 20,000 students – grades 7 through 12– in more than 150 schools became aware of the Louisiana land loss crisis and what can be done about it. Some had the opportunity to plant soil-saving plants in nearby wetlands. In the process the students learned valuable science lessons.

What once were pastures now are wetlands – with water where cattle used to graze beside a levee near Pointe Aux Chenes. Seventh grade students at Montegut Middle School planted smooth cordgrass near the water’s edge at the foot of the levee.

Because of the success of the Louisiana Master Farmer Program, LSU AgCenter professionals extended the training to even more farmers by offering it in a different format for the first time this spring.

Louisiana and its neighboring states have the potential to raise nonfood crops for biofuels because they have suitable available land and a long growing season, said Michael Blazier, a researcher at the LSU AgCenter's Hill Farm Research Station in Homer.

Among the tremendous losses resulting from Hurricane Katrina was an old lighthouse that stood for more than a century at the tip of Louisiana’s most remote barrier island chain.

The colder the weather in winter, the better Louisiana soybean farmers like it. That’s because freezing temperatures kill kudzu, a noxious plant that among its many faults harbors the fungus that causes a dreaded disease called Asian soybean rust.