Tarnished plant bugs, which have historically been a mid-season pest of cotton, are now becoming a sporadic pest during seedling development. This is happening as agricultural conditions are changing, making it possible for more tarnished plant bugs to survive. These changes include more plant hosts because of more acres going into conservation reserve programs and an increase in conservation tillage.

To obtain maximum effectiveness of fall/winter herbicide programs, applications should be timed to emergence of winter weeds preferably once temperatures have cooled in late November or December. Producers are cautioned that although effective through winter months, these programs may not eliminate the need for a follow-up treatment before or at planting.

Of all the U.S. sugar-producing areas,Louisiana is the oldest and most historic. Sugarcane arrived in Louisiana in1751 with the Jesuit priests who planted it near where their church now stands on Baronne Street in New Orleans. The Louisiana sugarcane industry is in its third century of uninterrupted sugar production.

LSU AgCenter research has demonstrated that conventional, whole-field soil-sampling schemes and field-averaged yields do not satisfactorily describe the variations of yield and soil attributes present in several sugarcane fields. Research suggests a precision management approach.

Environmentally conscientious sugarcane growers voluntarily use best management practices (BMPs) to control runoff from production areas. Post-harvest residue management in sugarcane is one area in need of research-based information to determine the best management approach.

In recent years purple nutsedge has become more problematic in Louisiana sugarcane fields. Purple nutsedge is considered among the world’s worst weeds because of its perennial nature and ability to produce abundant and viable underground tubers.

In Louisiana sugarcane, row shoulders and middles are intensively cultivated to promote crop growth, eliminate ruts, incorporate fertilizer and control weeds. Sugarcane growers have been slow to adopt reduced tillage practices because of concerns over reduced yields and weed control.

In Louisiana, four to six harvests are made from a single planting of sugarcane. After that, the sugarcane must be replanted because of disease and weed pressure. During the fallow period, weeds must be managed to maximize yields for the next few years.

For more than 50 years, entomology programs at both the LSU AgCenter and U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sugarcane Research Laboratory at Houma have conducted research addressing the development of new varieties resistant to the larval stages of the sugarcane borer moth. In addition, the two research partners evaluate resistance to aphids and a potential invasive insect pest of Louisiana sugarcane, the Mexican rice borer.

Sugarcane breeding, leading to the release of genetically improved varieties, has played a vital role in sustaining Louisiana’s sugar industry. Past sugarcane breeding efforts have relied solely on traditional breeding approaches.

For many sugarcane varieties, the rescuer can oftentimes be in need of rescue. Such is the case with LCP 85-384. The release of LCP 85-384 in 1993 was truly a hallmark of sugarcane breeding efforts in Louisiana. By 2003, it was apparent that LCP 85-384 was in need of replacement.

The United States is the world’s largest producer of ethanol, followed closely by Brazil. We produce about 13 million gallons of ethanol a day. To close the gap between fuel use and available ethanol would require a 50-fold increase in ethanol production. Currently, America’s primary agricultural source of simple sugars used for ethanol production is the starch in corn. But an expansion of this magnitude is well beyond our available corn supplies.

There are likely to be many solutions for achieving energy alternatives, and agriculture is being looked upon for several sources – including sugarcane.

The No. 1 goal of the Audubon Sugar Institute is to keep Louisiana sugar factories profitable.

As Louisiana begins its third century of sugar production, research continues to play a vital role that sustains both growers and processors. Many facets of the industry continue to change.

The following news articles appeared in the spring 2008 issue of Louisiana Agriculture.

Rice is one of Louisiana’s leading agricultural commodities, with nearly 532,000 acres planted in 2002, producing an average yield of 5,772 pounds per acre. The 2002 gross farm income reached $122.8 million, and value added in marketing, processing and transportation increased that amount to $159.6 million.

The Biomass Research and Development Initiative in the 2002 farm bill sets a goal of a 12 percent increase in production of chemicals and materials from biomass by 2010.

The Northwest Louisiana Master Gardener Association celebrates its 10th anniversary in 2008. Since it began, 343 gardening enthusiasts have been certified to educate and beautify their communities.

Louisiana landowners are showing interest in carbon trading – an emerging market that pays landowners for removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

This year’s AgMagic had a record number of visitors – 13,840– and LSU AgCenter officials are already planning next year’s event.

Weather forecasting is both art and science. But the science – especially long-range forecasting for south Louisiana in the summer – makes prediction difficult. For the past few years, south Louisiana has had blocks of fairly dry weather in the summer, especially when compared to the 1980s and 1990s, according to Jay Grymes,LSU AgCenter climatologist. He expects this pattern of warmer and somewhat drier summers to continue.

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine Spring 2008.pdf

Louisiana sugarcane farmers will have a new sugarcane variety this fall with the release of L 01-283. Developed by the LSU AgCenter in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sugarcane Research Unit in Houma and the American Sugar Cane League in Thibodaux, L 01-283 is the latest in a series of new varieties for the Louisiana sugarcane industry.

Artificial ripening of sugarcane as a complement to natural maturity is possible because of the development of glyphosate, a plant growth regulator, for use as a chemical ripener that hastens sugarcane maturation and increases sugar yield per ton of cane and per acre.

At one time the Louisiana sugarcane crop was harvested using mechanical whole stalk harvesters, where stalks were piled in the field and burned to remove leaves before transporting to the mill. Beginning in the mid 1990s, growers shifted to chopper harvesters, where stalks are cut into billets, loaded directly into wagons and transported to the mill.

The production of sugarcane in Louisiana is a major contributor to the agricultural economy of the state. In total market value, sugarcane is the leading row crop commodity produced in Louisiana.

As prices for gasoline and diesel fuel climb, Louisiana farmers face increased cost to irrigate their crops. Electricity maybe a more efficient power source, says LSUAgCenter water resources specialist, Ron Sheffield.

The bacteria and viruses that cause diseases of sugarcane in Louisiana are distributed throughout an infected plant.

Sugarcane is affected by two diseases known as rusts because of the color of the lesions caused in the leaves and reproductive spores produced by the pathogens. One disease is called brown rust, and the other is called orange rust, based on differences in lesion and spore color.

LCP 85-384 is a sugarcane variety that will occupy a special place in the history of sugarcane in Louisiana. It ultimately occupied a record-setting 91 percent of the industry acreage in the state during 2004, and its widespread cultivation caused a major shift in harvesting practices that created many new research questions.

Sugarcane Yearly Crop Rotation

In the summer of 2000, daylily rust was reported for the first time in the United States. It has since spread across most of the country and continues to present problems for home gardeners, commercial landscapers and daylily growers.

In Louisiana and other catfish-producing states, most growers focus on the production of market-ready fish and purchase fingerling catfish to restock their production ponds from a smaller number of farmers who specialize in fingerling production. In Louisiana, fewer than 20 fingerling producers satisfy the annual seed stock requirements for the state’s catfish industry.

The use of plastic mulch is an important cultural practice in the commercial production of fruits and vegetables, but removal and disposal of the mulch cause problems.

The ability of farmers to burn sugarcane is a significant economic factor for the state’s sugarcane industry. Burning of sugarcane before harvest eliminates from 30 percent to 50 percent of the leafy trash (residue), which constitutes from 20 percent to 25 percent of the total weight of the plant.

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine, Spring 2000

Every once in a while someone comes along who can build a better mousetrap. And at the LSU AgCenter, that person is Richard Cooper, professor in the Department of Veterinary Science who’s come up with a way to get chickens to lay eggs containing human proteins.

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.

Soy flour and more highly purified soy proteins contain a number of constituents that can be used in combating a variety of diseases. Soy isofla-vones may prevent diseases associated with post-menopausal women such as osteoporosis and coronary heart disease.

Interest in daylilies is still strong despite rust problems over the past several years. New daylily selections and All-American daylily winners need to be evaluated in the Gulf South for landscape performance.

Efforts in 2003 and 2004 included evaluation of cannas, coleus, angelonias, purslane, lantanas, perennial verbena, annual and perennial salvia, vinca, zinnias, melampodium, petunias, rudbeckia, phlox, daylilies, dianthus, ornamental kale, ornamental cabbage, calendula, violas, pansies, ornamental sweet potatoes, garden mums, African and French marigolds and others.

The Louisiana Master Gardener program started in Baton Rouge in 1994 and was adopted statewide in 1997. The program is offered in 20 parishes, with volunteer participation in 40 parishes.

Traditional pot-in-pot production in a nursery attempts to combine field and container-growing techniques and offers advantages over both production systems.

Ornamental gingers encompass a diverse and versatile group of plants that are gaining increased popularity in the flowering pot plant, landscape and cut flower markets. They have showy and attractive foliage and flowers, which make them interesting ornamentals.

Genetically engineered plants are an important part of integrated pest management (IPM) programs in cotton production. One such plant, Bollgard cotton, includes a gene from a bacterium, Bacillus thuringiensis, that is toxic to caterpillar pests, while being safe for humans, other animals and the environment.

Bell peppers are grown extensively throughout southeastern Louisiana, with production concentrated in Tangipahoa and surrounding parishes. Gross farm value in 1999 was about $1.6 million.

Brahman-composite breeds were developed from Brahman-crossbred cattle. The Santa Gertrudis, Brangus and Beefmaster breeds were among the first Brahman-composite breeds, all British-based, developed in the United States.

An LSU Agricultural Center scientist played a major role in helping bring to marketa new environmentally friendly insecticide for sugarcane – so friendly that it won anaward from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Males of an animal species have an advantage over females in the propagation of their genes.

The LSU Agricultural Center has started an aggressive plan to improve the state’s water quality with a new approach to best management practices.

James L. Griffin, Terrence Tiersch and the LouisianaAgricultural Experiment Station’s Cotton Variety and Strain Evaluation Team won the top research awards presented at the LSU Agricultural Center’s Annual Conference in December 1999.

As field corn acreage has increased in the mid-South, consultants and farmers have often noted high tarnished plant bug populations in cotton fields adjacent to corn.

Common carpetgrass was introduced into the United States through New Orleans during the 1800s. The Creole citizens referred to it as "Louisianagrass" or "petit gazon," meaning small lawngrass.

Many soil types are present in the Mississippi River Delta of Louisiana. Optimal nitrogen application rates and timing are needed for each specific soil type.

Because of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station, the state’s agriculture industry has become world-class and competitive globally. this is the opinion of three former experiment station directors as they reflected on the past.

Beef cattle in Louisiana are constantly infected with gastrointestinal nematodes, commonly referred to as roundworms.

Cotton is the most important textile fiber crop and the world’s second-most important oil-seed crop after soybeans. Cotton is grown commercially in the temperate and tropical regions of more than 50 countries. In the U.S., cotton is a major agricultural crop and was grown on more than 12.2 million acres in 2002. In Louisiana in 2002, cotton was produced on about 490,000 acres, which was well below the 50-year average of about 680,000 acres.

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine Fall 2000

Louisiana Agricullture Magazine 2000 summer

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine Winter 2000

The projected Louisiana gross farm value of forest products decreased significantly Oct. 1 , 2006, through Sept. 30,2007, according to the LSU AgCenter’s 2007 AgSummary.

Between 30,000 and 40,000 acres of sugarcane production in St. Mary, Iberia and Vermilion parishes were substantially affected by storm surge from Hurricane Rita that came on shore in southwestern Louisiana on September 24, 2005.

Sweet potatoes are an important agricultural commodity in Louisiana. More than 14,000 acres of sweet potatoes were planted in Louisiana in 2007 with a farmgate value of $65 million.

Louisiana sweet potato producers harvested an average to slightly above average crop in 2007, although acreage was slightly down from that of 2006 with 14,254 harvested acres for 2007.

Stink bugs were first recorded as pests of cotton during the early 1900s. The most common species of stink bug found in cotton fields across the southern United States are the southern green stink bug, green stink bug and brown stink bug.

Farmers have traditionally used harvest aids to desiccate weeds and improve crop quality and harvest efficiency. In recent years, harvest aids have become especially important in producing early maturing soybeans in Louisiana. Excessive foreign material and moisture associated with green plants at harvest can reduce the price producers receive.

The success of early season production coupled with the increasing late-season occurrence of Cercospora leaf blight, Asian rust and stink bugs has led Louisiana soybean producers to consider even earlier maturing varieties to maintain profitable soybean production.

Glyphosate (sold under numerousformulations including Roundup,Touchdown and others) is a nonselective, postemergence herbicide used to control weeds in reduced tillage systems and in glyphosate-resistant soybeans, cotton and corn marketed in the southern United States.

Nitrogen fertilization is a critical component of cultural practices required for producing maximum corn yield.Many factors including climatic conditions,soil type and tillage systems determine optimum nitrogen rates. Nitrogen is typically knifed-in soon after the crop has emerged and an adequate stand is established.

New business formation has always been important for economic growth. Self-employed individuals who have no paid employees operate 75 percent of U.S. businesses. Spurring entrepreneurship activity is an economic development strategy for rural Louisiana.

The coastal plants study team won the LSU AgCenter’s top research team award for 2007. Called the Tipton Team Award, it is named for Kenneth W. Tipton, the former vice chancellor for research.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, timberland nationwide totals 504 million acres. Forests cover 14 million acres, about 50 percent of Louisiana's land area, making it the state's greatest single land use.

According to the theory of clusters in the business world, companies tend to spatially concentrate in places where they experience unusual competitive success. Spatial analysis can be applied to forest products' manufacturing sectors to identify clusters.

Detection laboratory helps meet food safety needs

Consumers continue to demand more convenience with food products, including meat. Safety is a primary concern with precooked, ready-to-eat meat products.

Ciguatera fish poisoning is a typeof food poisoning caused by ingestion of certain tropical and subtropical marine fish that harbor natural toxins originating from microscopic algae (dinoflagellates).

In December 1996, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a requirement that all seafood must be processed using Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles. The intent of the requirement is to increase food safety and consumer confidence.

Throughout the various phases ofthe food production and processingsystem, opportunities for contaminationexist. Reliable laboratory and fieldmethods are necessary to rapidly detectand trace the source of contamination.

Cheese is one of the most ancient forms of manufactured food. It is the product of enzymatic action and lactic fermentation of milk using various bacterial cultures.

A partnership between scientists at the LSU Agricultural Center and entrepreneurs in Louisiana’s oyster industry has resulted in a revival of the Gulf Coast raw oyster.

1) Pathogenic microorganism hazards with reduced oxygen packaging of ground beef.2) Influence of display gas mixture on shelf life of ground beefin modified atmosphere packaging

Beef consumers are provided with various kinds of information on the fresh beef sold in grocery stores.

Scientists at the LSU AgCenter have developed a new medium-grain rice variety, named Earl, that offers improved yield and disease resistance.

Ozone is a substance best known intwo divergent ways. It is both beneficial—as in the ozone layer protecting the Earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays—or detrimental when ground-level concentrations become excessive, particularly on hot, humid days.

Although Americans enjoy the safest food supply in the world, several recent outbreaks of foodborne illness have heightened concern about food safety.

Food consumption plays two roles in human development: nutrition and disease prevention. Foods provide not only protein, fats, vitamins, minerals andother constituents essential for growth, but also components necessary for prevention of certain diseases.

Recent illnesses and deaths traced to foods contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) O157:H7 have caused processors, regulatory officials and scientists to examine different techniques to control and destroy pathogenic microorganisms.

Aflatoxin is a natural toxin produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus. Aflatoxin in corn appears when high temperatures and drought stress occur, which favors infection of the ear by the fungus.

LSU AgCenter Extension conducts “Safe Food Handlers” workshops to help people learn to keep food safe.

Established as the Fruit and Truck Experiment Station in January 1922, the LSU AgCenter’s Hammond Research Station has served the needs of the strawberry and vegetable industries in Southeast Louisiana for more than 80 years.

In late summer of 2005, hurricanes Katrina and Rita hit the Gulf states within a four-week period. Although Katrina wrecked the Gulf Coast from Louisiana to Florida, Louisiana was the only state that fell victim to both hurricanes. While Rita was a less severe hurricane than Katrina, it caused further distress to those evacuees from Katrina who had taken refuge in the areas in Rita's path.

Intermittent rains didn’t stop commercial tomato growers from viewing outdoor exhibits and touring the greenhouse tomato operation during a tomato field day at the LSU AgCenter’s Red River Research Station in Bossier City on Feb. 29, 2009.

Consumption of beef in the United States last year was about 67 pounds per capita. Many surveys have shown that tenderness of beef is important for consumer satisfaction. Genetic differences among cattle breeds influence variation in tenderness, as do individuals within those breeds. The Brahman breed has contributed significantly to increased performance in crossbred beef cattle in the South.

For the past 40 years, Don Franke, a professor and researcher in the School of Animal Sciences, has been studying ways to improve beef cattle in the South, particularly the Brahman breed.

Hurricanes frequently cause extensive damage to forests. Such disturbances not only affect the forest industry and wildlife habitats directly, but cause long-term influences on forest succession, site productivity and site drainage.

Soil carbon storage and dynamics represent an important component inthe global carbon cycle. LSU AgCenter scientists are conducting a study to quantify soil carbon storage and investigate its spatial distribution and relationships with land use types across the state of Louisiana.

LSU AgCenter researchers analyzed data from the 2006 Louisiana Health and Population Survey pertaining to age demographics,health insurance coverage and health care access in 18 hurricane-affected parishes in Louisiana.

To help understand the dynamics of the displacement of Louisiana’s population following hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, LSU AgCenter researchers analyzed data from a survey commissioned by the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the Louisiana Recovery Authority.

As competition between food and bioenergy drives up prices of corn, soybeans and other farm commodities, Louisiana has untapped land that could be put into production for alternative crops, according to agricultural industry observers.

Photos from the First Millennium

The LSU AgCenter Pecan Research and Extension Station in Shreveport hosted a seminar on pecan growing on Feb. 28, 2008, which was attended by 35 growers.

Richard Fontenot can’t sit still. With more than 2,500 acres to farm, he can’t afford to. But his efforts and contributions to Louisiana agriculture led to his being named the 2008 Louisiana Farmer of the Year.

James L. Griffin, an LSU AgCenter weed scientist, discovered this golf ball in a sugarcane field

A survey of AgCenter employees was conducted to determine basic knowledge about biotechnology and genetic modification, and the acceptance of GM and GE methodology.

Louisiana Agriculture Magazine Winter 2008.pdf

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

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.

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.

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.

Treating rice seed with gibberellic acid has improved rice production in the northeastern rice-growing area. On semi-dwarf varieties gibberellic acid improves seedling vigor by hastening emergence and increasing seedling population.

Red rice, a noxious weed in rice, costs rice producers millions of dollars each year. Red rice is physiologically similar to rice. Consequently, rice andred rice are susceptible to the same herbicides, so controlling red rice with herbicides in rice fields is difficult.

Rural America is turning to nature to revitalize its communities.Ironically, farming communities with enhanced natural amenities may boost business opportunities.

The two-year “Be Child Care Aware!” educational campaign, launched in the fall of 2003, reached at least 205,000 people with information on quality child care.

A rice specialist with the LSU AgCenter, Johnny Saichuk, has won the prestigious 2003 Rice Industry Award, sponsored by Rice Farming Magazine, Syngenta and the USA Rice Federation.

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.

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.

It’s a fact. Most tots and toddlers spend the majority of their waking moments in child-care programs.

Our society has a strong interest in the green industry, defined as the production, sale and maintenance of ornamental plants and their allied goods and services. During the 1990s, consumers’ incomes increased significantly for most demographic groups. They used some of this income to improve their homes, including lawns and gardens.

The LSU AgCenter’s Community Leadership and Economic Development Program received the 2005 training achievements award from the International Economic Development Council during the council’s annual meeting in Chicago in September.

The integrated pest management (IPM) approach to insect control involves multiple tactics. Host plant resistance is one. Pest-resistant plants can reduce pest population growth, the number of pesticide applications and the environmental impact of pesticides. Though some research has been conducted on breeding insect resistance into soybean plants, most soybean breeding programs focus on increasing yield.

The LSU AgCenter has licensed technology to a start-up biotechnology company to produce a precursor for the drug insulin in chicken eggs. This technology was developed by Richard Cooper, a professor in the Department of Veterinary Science.

The first caterpillar-resistant transgenic cotton varieties (Bollgard) were approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 1996. The Bollgard technology has successfully reduced the frequency of sprays for caterpillar pests by about half.