Departments

• By Bruce Schultz • Short-grain rice developed by the Louisiana State University AgCenter has been planted for a New Orleans company to make sake, a traditional Japanese beverage that is becoming more popular in the United States. The Pirogue variety was planted on 31 acres at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station on April 6 by Rick Zaunbrecher, ... Read More »

• By Herry Utomo, Ida Wenefrida and Bob Butcher • Diabetes is a worldwide problem affecting more than 463 million people (9.3% of world population). In the United States alone, more than 34.2 million people have diabetes (10.5% of the U.S. population), and 88 million people aged 18 years or older have prediabetes (34.5% of the adult U.S. population). Worldwide, ... Read More »

• Kenneth Gautreaux • Feral pigs are a nuisance in many areas of the country, causing billions of dollars in damage. Scientists with the LSU AgCenter and the LSU Department of Chemistry are working on a bait and delivery system to help reduce the population of feral hogs. Glen Gentry, LSU AgCenter feral hog specialist, and John Pojman, a chemistry ... Read More »

Following Environmental Protection Agency approval in February, RiceTec and Adama plan to bring to market their new Max-Ace Rice Cropping Solution. The herbicide-tolerant rice cultivars, paired with Highcard herbicide, give rice growers another  weed control tool, high yield potential and a rice rotation alternative to the FullPage rice system and conventional offerings from RiceTec. Max-Ace rice cultivars, along with Highcard, ... Read More »

Colorado State University hurricane researchers are predicting an above-average Atlantic hurricane season in 2021, citing the likely absence of El Niño as a primary factor. Tropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures are near their long-term averages, while subtropical Atlantic sea surface temperatures are much warmer than their long-term average values. The warmer subtropical Atlantic also favors an active 2021 Atlantic hurricane ... Read More »

• By Ian Grettenberger, Luis Espino and Madi Hendrick • Pyrethroids have been the go-to material of choice for tadpole shrimp management. Because they are widely used, there is a real concern that resistance to one or multiple active ingredients in this class (e.g., lambda cyhalothrin and zeta-cypermethrin). As many of you may have heard, resistance appears to have cropped ... Read More »

A visitor from Florida that has taken up residence in Terrebonne Parish could be good news in Louisiana’s fight against the invasive apple snail. At least three pairs of limpkins (Aramus guarauna), a wading bird found primarily in Florida’s freshwater marshes, are now breeding in Terrebonne Parish. The upside is that limpkins have a ravenous appetite for apple snails, an ... Read More »

• By Blake Wilson, Julian Lucero and Mark Shirley • Invasive apple snails — sometimes called giant, golden or channeled apple snails — are native to South America but have been introduced into many regions. Several species of apple snails are invasive pests in many parts of Europe, Asia, and North and South America. But the species that has been ... Read More »

• By Ryan McGeeney • As world markets slowly unfurl from the global knot of the COVID-19 pandemic, futures markets for both soybean and corn responded in a powerfully positive manner March 31 to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s annual Prospective Plantings Report. The report, conducted by the USDA’s National Agricultural Statistics Service, reflects producers’ intended acreage for crops across ... Read More »

The Department of Water Resources conducted the fourth snow survey at the Phillips Station snow course April 1. The manual survey recorded 49.5 inches of snow depth and a snow water equivalent of 21 inches, which is 83% of average for this location. The snow water equivalent measures the amount of water contained in the snowpack and is a key ... Read More »