(Distributed 07/24/12) “Louisiana’s Frontline: 125 Years of Agricultural Research,” a 60-minute documentary, will be broadcast on Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) and its statewide PBS affiliates Aug. 2 at 7 p.m.

(Distributed 07/05/12) BATON ROUGE, La – Producers from as far away as Bossier City attended the fruit and vegetable producers’ field day at the LSU AgCenter Burden Research Center on July 2.

(Distributed 07/25/12) Recently completed laboratory and animal handling space at the LSU AgCenter Isolation Facility is now available to any researcher who has a need for containment and isolation, said Phil Elzer, assistant vice chancellor for research.

(Distributed 07/31/12) Louisiana corn farmers need to be proactive in their approach to weed control, advises Daniel Stephenson, LSU AgCenter weed scientist. It starts four to six weeks before planting with a burndown of weeds. The end result removes weeds that will compete with corn for moisture and nutrition and eliminates habitat for damaging insects such as cutworms.

(Distributed 07/27/12) Missouri and Kentucky have joined the list of states approved by the the U.S. Department of Agriculture for sales of an anaplasmosis vaccine marketed by University Products LLC of Baton Rouge, La.

(Distributed 07/31/12) The LSU AgCenter’s work to showcase the nature-based tourism assets of rural Louisiana has paid off in the form of a $235,313 grant from the Walton Family Foundation.

(Distributed 07/27/12) A tough plant that will keep blooming through summer and into fall, gomphrena likes really high temperatures. Sometimes called globe amaranth, legend has it that the original planting was at the gates of Hades.

(Distributed 07/23/12) The Miss-Lou Rural Tourism Association will hold a summit Aug. 7-9 at the Visitors’ Center in Natchez, Miss., according to Dora Ann Hatch, LSU AgCenter agritourism coordinator. The meeting is open to anyone involved in rural tourism in Louisiana or Mississippi.

(Distributed 07/24/12) PARKS, La. – Farmers were in good spirits for the 50th Annual Sugarcane Field Day in St. Martin Parish on July 20. The crop looks lush and green with rains that have moistened the ground well for the upcoming planting season. In fact, so much rain fell that the field day was limited to an indoor event.

(Distributed 07/23/12) Demonstration projects across the state are showing farmers how corn and soybeans varieties perform in their area, and how different farming practices could benefit their operations.

(Distributed 07/23/12) WEST MONROE, La. – Results from the 43rd annual Louisiana 4-H and FFA State Horse Show held July 10-14 have been released.

(Distributed 07/23/12) The LSU AgCenter has found soybean rust in both Avoyelles and Rapides parishes. The incidence and severity are two percent in Avoyelles Parish and three percent in Rapides Parish.

(Distributed 07/20/12) ALEXANDRIA, La. – A herbicide-resistant weed in soybeans and cotton has caused what an LSU AgCenter weed scientist calls an epidemic in Louisiana. “This is the year of the pigweed,” Daniel Stephenson told farmers gathered for the field day on July 19 at the LSU AgCenter Dean Lee Research and Extension Station.

(Distributed 07/20/12) An abundance of hibiscus varieties do well in Louisiana.

(Distributed 07/18/12) ST. GABRIEL, La. – Rust diseases and bermudagrass control highlighted the presentations at the 30th annual sugarcane field day at the LSU AgCenter Sugar Research Station July 18.

(Distributed 07/1/8/12) The LSU AgCenter will hold a field day August 16 at the Sweet Potato Research Station in Chase, La., beginning with registration at 7:45 a.m.

(Distributed 07/17/12) LSU AgCenter scientists are looking at new technology for determining nitrogen rates in corn involving an optical sensor reading approach based upon vegetative data.

(Distributed 07/16/12) An uncommon pest showing up in Louisiana soybean fields is not yet much of a problem for farmers but is causing concern for LSU AgCenter entomologists. It’s the soybean podworm, the same pest that’s called the corn earworm in corn fields or bollworm in cotton fields.

(Distributed 07/13/12) OAK GROVE, La. – Unusually heavy rains in south Louisiana are delaying this year’s rice harvest, LSU AgCenter experts said July 12 at the Northeast Rice and Soybean Field Day.

(Distributed 07/13/12) Recent rains have provided the environment needed to increase mosquito populations, which also increases the likelihood of more cases of West Nile virus, according to LSU AgCenter entomologist Tim Schowalter.

(Distributed 07/12/12) The LSU AgCenter works actively to evaluate new ornamental plants for the landscape industry in Louisiana. This includes plants that may even eventually make their way into home gardens around the state. Much of this work is done at the AgCenter Hammond Research Station.

(Distributed 07/12/12) While wheat diseases were minimal this past year, they can become problematic under certain conditions. Fortunately for farmers there are options available when diseases strike, according to Boyd Padgett, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist.

(Distributed 07/12/12) Produce growers in Louisiana recently met and formed Louisiana Fruit and Vegetable Growers to help members increase their knowledge of producing fruit and vegetable crops.

(Distributed 07/11/12) Fred Enright, LSU AgCenter professor emeritus, has been selected to receive a Distinguished Alumni Award from the Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences.

(Distributed 07/11/12) LAKE ARTHUR, La. – If hot, dry weather continues, rice farmers should expect an outbreak of bacterial panicle blight. Don Groth, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist, told farmers gathered at the Vermilion Rice and Soybean Field Tour on July 5 that fungicides are not effective against bacterial panicle blight because it is caused by bacteria.

(Distributed 07/11/12) For the past several years, stink bug numbers have been fairly low in Louisiana soybeans, but this year they are much higher. The main culprit, the redbanded stink bug, if left unchecked, can cause damage so extensive that farmers may lose an entire field of beans, said LSU AgCenter entomologist Jeff Davis.

(Distributed 07/09/12) A sugarcane disease new to Louisiana has been identified in two Louisiana fields. The disease, orange rust, was first identified in the United States in 2007 in Florida, said LSU AgCenter plant pathologist Jeff Hoy.

(Distributed 07/06/12) Gardening in the shade can and should be just as enjoyable and successful as gardening in the sun. When the proper plants are selected for shady areas, the results can be beautiful and enduring.

(Distributed 07/05/12) The LSU AgCenter Jackson Parish field day will be held on July 21 at the Fannin Farm Store in Jonesboro. Registration will be from 8:30-9 a.m., with the program beginning at 9 a.m.

(Distributed 07/03/12) Whether you are young or old, the recent Garden Fest at the LSU AgCenter Burden Center provided something to tickle your fancy, according to Burden Center resident coordinator Jeff Kuehny.

(Distributed 07/03/12) The LSU AgCenter’s 30th Annual Sugarcane Field Day will be held July 18 at the Sugar Research Station near St. Gabriel, beginning with registration at 8:30 a.m.

(Distributed 07/03/12) PALMETTO, La. – The LSU AgCenter will hold a rice and soybean producer field tour on July 10 at a local farm.