Writer: Joe Bryant (806) 746-6101, j-bryant1@tamu.edu Contact: Dr. James Leser, (806) 746-6101 LUBBOCK — Almost two weeks of cool, cloudy, rainy weather is proving a mixed blessing to the Texas High Plains cotton crop. About a third of the 3.5 million acres annually planted in the area was lost to drought, blowing sand and bad… Read More →
Writer: Kathleen Davis Phillips, (979) 845-2872, ka-phillips@tamu.edu Contact: Dr. George Latimer (979) 845-1121 COLLEGE STATION — Officials figured there would be aflatoxin in corn this year, they just didn’t know how much. Now routine samples have discovered the toxin in another feed crop — grain sorghum. “I didn’t believe it,” said Dr. George Latimer, Texas… Read More →
COLLEGE STATION — New versions of genetically engineered, insect- resistant Bt cotton and other crops will be in use within five years. And even though the original versions have just been planted, new strains will be necessary, according to an entomologist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. That’s because science may be able to control… Read More →
HOUSTON–The Texas Agricultural Extension Service, part of The Texas A&M University System, has named Preston D. Sides of Houston as the agency’s interim assistant director for urban programming. In that role, Sides will coordinate Extension’s efforts to more effectively serve urban constituents in the state’s six largest metropolitan areas. “The Extension Service has the most… Read More →
Contact: Brent Bean, (806) 359-5401, b-bean@tamu.edu Writer: Pam Dillard, (806) 359-5401, p-dillard@tamu.edu AMARILLO — In the Southern High Plains, wheat is sown from August to December. The extended planting period is due in part to a wide range of production systems, from total dryland to irrigated. “Timing is everything,” said Brent Bean, area agronomist with… Read More →
COLLEGE STATION — Aflatoxin research at Texas A&M University is showing promise in solving this age-old problem. A biotechnological approach may be the answer that researchers have been looking for, according to Dr. Nancy Keller, plant pathologist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. Aflatoxin is a fungus that infects corn, cotton, peanuts and other crops…. Read More →
Contact: Dr. Jane Magill (979) 845-8917 Plant biotechnology is the focus of a three-part satellite symposium beginning in September. Designed for research faculty, graduate students, Extension professionals, high school science teachers and private-sector plant biotechnologists, this program brings together leading experts from education, industry and government. Participants will learn about important developments and issues in the… Read More →
COLLEGE STATION — Seed for two varieties of long-stem bluebonnets now may be licensed for commercial production exclusively by Texas nurseries, opening what’s expected to be a blooming new money-maker for growers and florists. Texas Sapphire,’ which is the traditional blue, and Texas Ice,’ which is white, are the first varieties in the Big Bend… Read More →
Writer: Pam Dillard, (806) 359-5401, p-dillard@tamu.edu Contact: Mark Lazar (806) 359-5401, m-lazar@tamu.edu AMARILLO — High Plains wheat growers will have another hard red winter wheat variety to consider for future production, according to Mark Lazar, wheat geneticist with the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station in Amarillo. A major benefit for TAM 110 is winter hardiness. The… Read More →
DALLAS — Texas wheat growers will be able to try a new kind of crop insurance this year that protects them against revenue losses, as well as yield losses. But they must decide quickly–Sept. 30 is the deadline for choosing this new crop insurance. In 1995, Texas harvested 2.8 million acres of wheat and ranked… Read More →
