Upcoming Auxin Trainings

Below are the mandatory auxin trainings that are being offered in the north region in February, March and April. Each will last 1 hour.

If you plan on applying Dicamba-based products, you MUST attend one of these trainings. They are each 1 CEU, do not require advance registration, and are offered free of charge.

Feb. 5 Sudan Coop Meeting, Sudan Community Center 11:00a – Kerry Siders

Feb 6 Sandyland Conference, Seminole 8a – Terry Millican

Feb 6 Wilber Ellis Meeting, Hereford Noon – Rick Auckerman

Feb. 7 Attebury Grain Tulia 11:30a – John Villalba

Feb. 7 Ochiltree County Expo Center 8:30a – Scott Strawn

Feb. 7 Woman’s Building, Lamesa 9:00a – Gary Roschetzky

Feb. 7 Woman’s Building, Lamesa 10:30a – Gary Roschetzky

Feb. 8 Woman’s Building, Lamesa 9:00a – Gary Roschetzky

Feb. 8 Woman’s Building, Lamesa 10:30a – Gary Roschetzky

Feb. 8 Western Equipment, Wellington Noon – Kenny Patterson

Feb. 9 AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Amarillo 8:30a – Jourdan Bell

Feb 12 AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Lubbock 10a – Pete Dotray

Feb 13 Lubbock County Extension Office, Lubbock 10a – Katelyn Kesheimer

Feb. 15 Castro County Crop Conference, Dimmitt 8:00a – Craig Campbell

Feb. 16 Gray County Extension Office, Pampa 9:00a –Mike Jeffcoat

Feb 20 Terry County Extension Office, Brownfield noon – Tyler Mays
Feb 21 Littlefield Show Barn 1p – Kerry Siders
Feb 26 Cochran County Extension Office, Morton 10a – Kerry Siders
March 21 Hockley County Extension Office, Leveland 1p – Kerry Siders
March 22 Cochran County Extension Office, Morton 10a – Kerry Siders

Feb 21 Hockley County Extension Office, Levelland 9a – Kerry Siders

Feb 27 Lubbock County Extension Office, Lubbock 10a – Katelyn Kesheimer

Feb 27 Yoakum County Extension Office, Plains noon – Tyler May

Feb 27 Mitchell County Coop, Colorado City noon – Zach Wilcox

Feb 28 Lynn County English Version WPS, BE Implement, Tahoka 10:00a – Wade Howard

Feb 28 Lynn County English Version Auxin, BE Implement, Tahoka 11:00a – Wade Howard

Feb 28 Lynn County Spanish Version WPS, BE Implement, Tahoka 12:30p – Wade Howard

Feb 28 Lynn County Spanish Version Auxin, BE Implement, Tahoka 1:30p – Wade Howard

March 6 Lipscomb County – JR Sprague

March 8 AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Lubbock 10a – Pete Dotray

March 9 AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Amarillo 8:30a – Jourdan Bell

March 13 Lubbock County Extension Office, Lubbock 10a – Katelyn Kesheimer

March 20 Lubbock County Extension Office, Lubbock 10a – Katelyn Kesheimer
March 20 Terry County Extension Office, Brownfield noon - Tyler Mays

March 21 Yoakum County Extension Office, Plains noon – Tyler May

March 21 Littlefield Show Barn 9a – Kerry Siders

April 3 Ochiltree County Expo Center, Perryton 8:30a – Scott Strawn

April 4 SE Rolling Plains Ag Conference, Snyder 8a – Greg Gruben

April 10 Terry County Extension Office, Brownfield noon – Tyler Mays

April 11 Yoakum County Extension Office, Plains noon – Tyler May

April 12 AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Lubbock 10a – Pete Dotray

New Cotton Insect Management Guide Available

Texas A&M Agrilife cotton entomologist Dr. Suhas Vyavhare has updated the cotton insect management guide and it is now available! 

It is full of useful information, such as Bt cotton, scouting tips, early-, mid-, and late-season pests, beneficial arthropods, and insecticide recommendations. It also contains great pictures for easy identification of pests.

Check out the guide here! 

Thanks to Suhas and everyone else who worked on this guide. 

Managing Economic Risks Conference Jan 23 at Cagle's Steaks in Lubbock

Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Service is hosting Seeking Solutions: Managing Economic Risks next week, January 23rd at Cagle's Steaks & BBQ in Lubbock.

A total of 3 CEUs will be offered at the meeting, as well as 1 CEU for the mandatory auxin training (if you are using auxin herbicides this year, you NEED this training - read more here about dates in Lubbock).

Please pre-register by calling the Crosby County Extension Office at 806-675-2347.

Cost is $30 at the door and includes lunch.

For more information, check out the flyer here and agenda with complete list of topics and speakers.

2017 Southern High Plains RACE Trial Data Available!

Data from the 2017 RACE trials on the Southern High Plains of Texas are now available. Thanks to Drs. Seth Byrd and Jourdan Bell for putting this together, and also to everyone who helped work on the trials.

You can find the report here.

Southern High Plains IPM Newsletter, Jan 8

Here is the first newsletter of 2018! 

Included are dates for mandatory auxin trainings in Lubbock, as well as pesticide applicator trainings.

If you would like to receive the newsletter via email, just let me know.

Traveling this Holiday Season? Stay Safe from Bed Bugs!

As I get ready to travel myself for the holidays, I am reminded of an unfortunate run-in I had with bed bugs in a hotel last year. I thought it would be a good time to re-post some information I wrote then on how to stay safe from bed bugs when you're traveling. Feel free to contact me with any questions!

Bed bugs have seen a global resurgence in the past 15 years and don’t discriminate between hosts, housing types, or, unfortunately, hotels. As long as they can get a blood meal they are happy campers. They are notoriously hard to control once an infestation gets started, so I wanted to give everyone some tips to stay ahead of this epidemic when you leave the comforts of your home! 

A shed skin of a bed bug on the underside of a hotel mattress I found recently. As they get older, bed bugs outgrow their outer layer (exoskeleton) and leave behind these shed skins. The black spots near the skin are fecal stains from the bug.

My arm in 2016 after sharing a bed with some bed bugs! Several bites in a line like this are characteristic of bed bug bites. 

An adult bed bug (Photo: Bart Drees, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension)

Tips for Travelers: Scouting for Bed Bugs

How to scout your hotel room for bed bugs:

1.     Don’t put any belongings on the bed or unpack before you complete your inspection. I put my luggage on the luggage rack (usually in the closets of most rooms) or in the bathroom until I have checked for bed bugs.

2.     Things you are looking for: 

·      actual bed bugs 

·      shed skin of immature bugs 

·      dark brown fecal spots (dried excrement)

Adult bed bugs are approximately a quarter of an inch long and red-brown with oval, flattened bodies. Immature bed bugs are smaller versions of the adults, but with a much lighter color and approximately the size of a pinhead.

3.     Begin with a preliminary check around the room. Focus on the corners of ceilings and the baseboards. 

4.     Remove the corners of the fitted sheet and look underneath the mattress and box spring. Examine the mattress seams and crevices in the box spring. Pay special attention to head of the bed. Most cell phones have a flashlight that is very useful for this!

5.     You should also inspect crevices in the bed frame. This is especially important if the bed frame is wood!

6.     If there is a removable headboard, remove it from the wall and inspect the crevices on the back. This is a common place for bed bug infestations to begin. If you have never done this before, make sure you have two people to remove it safely.

7.     Other things that can be inspected include behind picture frames or couches and chairs. But limit your search to items near the bed! 

What to do if your hotel room has bed bugs:

1.     Call the front desk and request a new room. Problems are usually contained in a particular area, so try to get a room in a different area.

2.     Quarantine all your belongings in garbage bags (or something similar), especially if they were on/near the bed or if you experienced bites.

3.     Put everything that is safe for laundering in a dryer at high heat for at least 45 minutes. DO NOT wash first! A washing machine does not typically get hot enough to kill all the bugs. After you have dried everything, then you can resume a normal washing routine. 

4.     Keep your luggage/anything that can’t be laundered in a closed garbage bag until you can treat it. Contact your local pest control company for how to do this. 

Important facts about bed bugs:

·      Bed bugs feed only on the blood of animals and spend most of their time where they can get a reliable blood meal from their host. In the case of hotel rooms, this is near the bed. Only when they are very hungry, or there is a bad infestation, will you find them in other places. 

·      Bed bugs do not transmit diseases when they bite. Every person reacts differently, ranging from mild irritation and itching to large, red welts. Some reactions are delayed and occur days or even weeks after the bite.

·      Bed bug bites are usually painless so people don’t always realize they are being bitten. Any exposed skin is vulnerable, such as arms, legs, face, or neck. Bed bugs will typically make several bites at at time, often in a short line. 

·      Bed bugs are mostly active at night and can go months without a blood meal. Therefore, ignoring a problem and hoping that they starve is not a reliable solution.

·      There has been a global resurgence in bed bugs over the last decade and eradicating an infestation can be time-consuming and expensive. Taking pro-active measures when you’re traveling to avoid bringing them home is always worth it!  

Important Label Updates for Dicamba

Growers in Texas were fortunate to have access to the newly registered dicamba technologies in 2017 for weed control. While complaints in Texas were relatively low compared to other states, the EPA has worked with companies on new label requirements to reduce any chance of off-target movement of the pesticide in 2018. These changes went into effect in October of this year.

The major changes that applicators need to be aware of are the following:

• XtendiMax with VaporGrip Technology, Fexapan Plus VaporGrip Technology and Engenia herbicides are now classified as Restricted Use Pesticides 

• Every person applying these products to any crop will be required to attend annual, mandatory auxin-specific training 

You can read about this in more detail in the Texas Row Crops Newsletter - Dicamba Label Updates and Mandatory Training for Applicators.

Trainings:

Texas A&M Agrilife Extension will be offering these TDA-mandated, 1-hour trainings throughout the winter. We will announce more as they are scheduled, but the first 3 have been scheduled in Amarillo and will be hosted by agronomist Dr. Jourdan Bell.

• January 12, February 9, March 9
• 8:30-9:30 am
• Texas A&M Agrilife Extension Center, 6500 W Amarillo Blvd, Amarillo 
• There is no fee and each class will be 1 CEU in laws and regulations

We will be hosting trainings in Lubbock, and will get that information out as soon as they are scheduled.