LSU AgCenter researcher Jim Hayes talks about corn at a field day June 16 at the AgCenter’s Red River Research Station at Bossier City, La. (Photo by Chuck Griffin. Click on image for downloadable photo.)

News Release Distributed 06/18/10

BOSSIER CITY, La. – Plant breeding, variety evaluations and insect pest management on cotton, soybeans and corn were highlighted at a field day June 16 at the LSU AgCenter’s Red River Research Station.

In addition to row crop evaluations, the station also features research focused on the production of greenhouse tomatoes.

The results of the variety trials provide farmers the information they need for growing these crops successfully in northwest Louisiana, said LSU AgCenter research associate Jim Hayes. “These tests are completely unbiased,” he said. “We invite companies to submit varieties well adapted to the Louisiana growing environment.”

Soybean research includes “a good complement of disciplines,” said Blair Buckley, LSU AgCenter soybean breeder.

His long-term study is focused on breeding for resistance to diseases, mainly cercospera leaf blight, “which causes a lot of loss here in the state,” Buckley said. “We have 37 fifth generation lines that we’ll be able to combine for the first time.”

Boyd Padgett, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist, said no Asian soybean rust is being reported in the United States right now.

The best defense against plant disease is to choose disease- and stress-resistant varieties, he explained.

In his studies on various corn fungicides, yields varied by variety and location, and no consistent benefits were associated with a fungicide application, Padgett said. He is not recommending blanket fungicide applications, but on a field-by-field basis instead.

Decisions should be based on genetic resistance of the variety, the presence of disease and prevailing environmental conditions, Padgett said.

Steve Micinski, LSU AgCenter entomologist, is conducting a trial to look for benefits of over-the-top sprays following preventative insecticide applications for early-season thrips control in cotton. “If you are going to make an application over the top for thrips early on, you want to do it at the one- to two-leaf stage,” he said.

Micinski said bollworms cannot be ignored because growers are having problems with them in soybeans in Arkansas. He said high populations were present last year at the research station.

“We are on track to equal or beat that high of last year,” he said. “We could end up with tremendous pressure when the bollworms start to leave corn and move to cotton.”

The greenhouse tomato project is conducted by Hanna Hanna, who studies varieties for yield, fruit weight, quality and shelf life. A good variety is the recipe for success, Hanna said.

He suggested growers try a soilless media, perlite, which he has been recycling for 14 years.

Hanna called bumblebee pollination, inverted gutters, harvesting rainwater and grafting tomatoes major innovations in greenhouse tomato production. He said the future is growing under light-emitting diodes.