Category Archives: Commodity

Reminder: Tidewater AREC’s Early-Summer Row Crops Tour on morning of Thursday, June 6, 2013

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The Virginia Tech Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center will hold an early-summer row crops tour during the morning of Thursday, June 6, 2013. The tour will be held at the Center’s Research Farm (1045 Hare Road, Suffolk, VA). Specialists will display field research in progress and will present information for the 2013 crop season.

Speakers and topics will include Dr. Ames Herbert (Thrips Management in Cotton/Peanuts and Tour of Research Plots); Dr. Maria Balota (Use of Genomics and Physiology in Crop Improvement); Dr. Hunter Frame (Soil Fertility Research in Virginia Cotton); Dr. Pat Phipps (Fungicides Boost Wheat Yield) (New Tools for Peanut and Cotton Disease Control); and Dr. David Holshouser (Oats as an Alternative Cover Crop). Robert Christian of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will conclude the tour with a pesticide safety review. Commercial pesticide applicator recertification credits will be offered in Categories 1-A (Agricultural Plant Pest Control), 1-C (Fumigation of Soil and Agricultural Products), and 10 (Demonstration & Research Pest Control), and Registered Technician (category 60). We have applied to offer Certified Crop Adviser Continuing Education credits, and plan to apply to offer Private Applicator Recertification Credits.

All interested in commercial production of field crops are invited to attend. There is no preregistration and no fee for attending this tour. Arrival is at 8:30 am with the program starting promptly at 9:00 am and running through lunch (courtesy of Berry Lewis with Bayer CropScience). More information is available through local Virginia Cooperative Extension offices or by contacting the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center main office at 757-657-6450. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center at 757-657-6450 (TDD number is 800-828-1120) during business hours of 8 am and 4:30 pm to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.

Besiege labeled for use in soybeans

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Besiege by Syngenta Crop Protection, LLC has a new supplemental label that includes soybean. It is a RESTRICTED USE insecticide that contains 0.835 lb ai/gallon of the pyrethroid lambda-cyhalothrin (Karate) and 0.417 lb ai/gallon of the anthranilic diamide chlorantraniliprole (Coragen). This will be a good fit for soybean as the combined activities of the two active ingredients will provide control of a broad spectrum of pests. Many insect pests are on the label. For the most commonly encountered pests in Virginia, rates for corn earworm, bean leaf beetle and threecornered alfalfa hopper are 5 – 8 oz/acre; 8 – 10 oz/acre for stink bugs and grasshoppers, and 10 oz/acre for soybean looper and beet armyworm. Before use, be sure to check the label for use restrictions.

Invitation to the Virginia Tech Tidewater AREC “Early Summer Row Crops Tour” on June 6, 2013

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The “Early Summer Row Crops Tour” will be held at the Tidewater AREC Research Farm (1045 Hare Road, Suffolk, VA) on Thursday, June 6, 2013. There is no preregistration and no fee for attending this tour. The program will begin promptly at 9:00 am and will conclude with lunch (courtesy of Berry Lewis with Bayer CropScience). All interested in commercial production of field crops are invited to attend. We will provide further details once the agenda is finalized. If you are a person with a disability and desire any assistive devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the Tidewater Agricultural Research and Extension Center at 757-657-6450 (TDD number is 800-828-1120) during business hours of 8 am and 4:30 pm to discuss accommodations five days prior to the event.

Oversite in Acknowledgements

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We very much regret the oversight in not listing the following companies in the acknowledgements section of our annual report, 2012 Insect Pest Management in Virginia Cotton, Peanut and Soybean, AREC-37NP: AMVAC, FMC and BASF. Funding for our program is critical as are the valuable collaborations and partnerships we have with many companies and their representatives. I hate that we slipped up on this and we apologize. We are looking forward to a new season and are already making plans for a productive season. Thank you for your support of our insect pest management program. Ames Herbert

Ames Herbert’s 2012 annual research summary book now available online

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Ames Herbert’s annual research summary book, “2012 Insect Pest Management in Virginia Cotton, Peanut, and Soybean,” is now available on the Virginia Cooperative Extension website: http://pubs.ext.vt.edu/AREC/AREC-37/AREC-37.html (the publication number is AREC-37NP). It is a 3MB pdf file. Thanks to all those who supported our entomological research program in 2012.

Prevathon is now approved by EPA for use on soybean

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Dupont has received EPA approval to add soybeans and oilseed crops (including sunflowers and canola) to the Prevathon® label. Pending state registrations we expect to have Prevathon® available for the soybean, sunflower and canola crops for the 2013 growing season. Prevathon is the active ingredient chlorantaniliprol and has excellent activity against lep pests including corn earworm, armyworm species and others.

Deadline bullets on EPA chopping block (read Dr. Tookers article below)

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Metaldehyde (Deadline products) labeled use in corn and soybeans in jeopardy
One of the reasons that slugs are such a challenge in no-till field crops is the lack of commercially available pest management tools. Among the few viable options for slug control are metaldehyde-based baits, the best well known of which are the Deadline products (e.g., Deadline Bullets and Deadline Mini-Pellets), but others are available.
The active ingredient metaldehyde is produced by a European company called Lonza and needs periodic re-registration with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The latest re-registration is underway, and we recently learned that Lonza has decided to let corn and soybeans drop from the label. The IR-4 Project (which facilitates registration of pest management tools; http://ir4.rutgers.edu/) has submitted a petition to EPA to establish tolerances on these and other commodities (which would allow their continued registration on the metaldehyde label), but in the near future it could be that growers would not be allowed to use metaldehyde-based products to protect their corn and soybean fields for perhaps a year or two until the EPA publishes a final rule on the proposed tolerances.

Since learning of this problem, various organizations including IR4, AMVAC (the producer of Deadline products), and University-based and NRCS personnel have mobilized to try to maintain uninterrupted use of metaldehyde in corn and soybeans. Our efforts are directed toward the EPA, where the final decision lies. It is promising that such a range of voices have emerged in support of maintaining the current uses of metaldehyde, but it would be valuable for EPA to hear from growers and grower groups. If you have the energy to send them a note, please contact me by email or phone (814-865-7082) and I can help you make this happen.

Contact Information
John Tooker