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Louisiana Agriculture Magazine Summer 2023
LSU AgCenter Roseau Cane Infographic
Rice, alligators and sugarcane are quintessential Louisiana products, and LSU AgCenter researchers and extension agents devote themselves to helping the producers who grow them. Economists are finding ways to improve the market for alligators while specialists focus on innovation in the sugar industry and creating new varieties of rice.
AgCenter researchers also have an eye on the natural world. They are protecting the roseau cane that thrives on the coast and the ironwood trees of Guam. All these efforts are detailed in this issue of Louisiana Agriculture magazine.
LSU Agriculture Is Winning for Louisiana
Matt Lee
The LSU AgCenter and College of Agriculture are working for the people of Louisiana. The researchers and extension personnel have audacious goals to achieve even more for the state.
Louisiana's Alligator Industry: Transforming for the Future
Matt Fannin, Casey Stannard and Jerrod Penn
The Louisiana alligator makes an important contribution to the overall economy of the state. However, prices per foot for alligator skins have drastically fallen. LSU AgCenter and College of Agriculture faculty are attempting to identify new markets for these less demanded skins.
The Mysterious Case of Ironwood Tree Decline: Are Termites to Blame?
Garima Setia, Junyan Chen, Robert Schlub and Claudia Husseneder
The ironwood tree, Casuarina equisetifolia, has been a vital component of Guam's natural ecosystem. However, for the past few decades, ironwood trees began to mysteriously decline. LSU AgCenter researchers were asked to help.
Louisiana Sugarcane Is Ripe for Automation
Anurag Mandalika
Sugarcane is a major industry in Louisiana. Some obstacles the industry faces include workforce shortages and concerns about cane quality and consistency. These concerns necessitate the push toward automation.
Geaux Shop Healthy: A New Look for Louisiana Healthy Retail
Makenzie Miller, Denise Holston and Ruthie Losavio
The LSU AgCenter Healthy Communities program partners with local retailers to administer Geaux Shop Healthy, a community-based healthy retail program that aims to increase the supply and demand of healthy foods in communities.
Best Practices for Canopy Management of Live Oaks
Damon Abdi and Jeb S. Fields
A healthy canopy is essential to the growth and development of the live oak (Quercus virginiana), supporting the leaves that are responsible for photosynthesis. A few simple guidelines help direct landowners in the management of live oak canopies.
Surveys Reveal the Expansion of Roseau Cane Scale Along Gulf Coast
Tanner Sparks, Matthew Berry, Keyla Pruett, Josh Snook, Logan Herbert and Rodrigo Diaz
The roseau cane scale (RCS) (Nipponaclerda biwakoensis) is an invasive insect present in Louisiana. RCS is a concern due to its implication in the die-off of the roseau cane within the Mississippi River Delta. Roseau cane is the dominant vegetation and performs critical ecosystem services that support Louisiana’s economy.
Low-GI, High-Protein Rice: Directly Connecting Rice to Positive Health Outcomes
Herry Utomo and Ida Wenefrida
A high-protein rice with a low GI value developed by LSU AgCenter researchers is allowing people with diabetes to enjoy cooked white rice served in gumbo, jambalaya or boudin, some of the world-famous Cajun foods people in Louisiana love.
Kyle Peveto
Ida Wenefrida, 64, a plant biologist and accomplished researcher at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, passed away from peritoneal cancer on March 27.
LA Delta Crop Podcast: Expanding Extension Outreach
Dennis Burns, Kylie Miller, Bruce Garner and Ralph Frazier Jr.
A team of AgCenter agriculture natural resource agents in the five Delta parishes in northeast Louisiana have developed a podcast and online video series as a modern way of reaching out to growers.
E.S. Richardson: A Pioneer of Educational Films
Bruce Garner
Long before television and the internet, E.S. Richardson, of the LSU Agricultural Extension Department, pioneered educational films and used the automobile to take the films to the people of Louisiana.
Sara Thomas-Sharma, Lawson Connor, Nelomie Galagedara, Rajan Dhakal, Vinson Doyle, Trey Price, Boyd Padgett and Tri Setiyono
“When is the best time to spray fungicides?” is a question that is central to managing many plant diseases. For the past four years, a group of researchers has been tracking the spores of the pathogens causing Cercospora leaf blight of soybean to get a better answer to this question.
Together, Hilton and Shannan Waits Mentor and Educate 4-H’ers in Vermilion Parish
Kyle Peveto
For nearly 18 years, the husband-and-wife team of Hilton and Shannan Waits has worked as agents leading the Vermilion Parish 4-H youth development program.
Kyle Peveto
