more... > Louisiana Agriculture Magazine > Past Issues > Late-fall/Early-winter Herbicide Application: A New Approach to Managing Winter Weeds in Louisiana [Image: 111 days after] To obtain maximum effectiveness of fall/winter herbicide programs, applications should be timed to emergence of winter weeds preferably once temperatures have cooled in late November or December. Producers are cautioned that although effective through winter months, these programs may not eliminate the need for a follow-up treatment before or at planting. Economical Methods to Extract and Purify Catfish Oil During the past 20 years, interest has increased in dietary effects of omega-3 fatty acids because they play a major role in human health. Natural fish oils are thought to help maintain heart and vascular health in humans. Planting kicks off Baton Rouge high school students’ summer farming experience [Image: Students at McKinley High School] “Who likes squash?” asked Emily Neustrom, a project coordinator with the LSU AgCenter. She was holding up a packet of seeds and speaking to students at Baton Rouge’s McKinley High School. They were learning leadership, running a business, gardening and nutrition as part of a service-learning experience. Colyer takes over Northwest Region [Image: Pat Colyer] Patrick Colyer is first to be the second regional director in the LSU AgCenter administration.Colyer, a plant pathologist at the Red River Research Station in Bossier City for 25 years, became director of the Northwest Region, one of the AgCenter’s seven regions in March 2008.  more articles... Rust keeps threatening Louisiana sugarcane [Image: Sugarcane Field Day] New sugarcane varieties are increasing yields, but diseases pose a constant threat, farmers were told by LSU AgCenter researchers at a July 18, 2008, sugarcane field day here. Sweet sorghum shows promise as alternative crop Sugarcane farmers heard about alternative crops and cane varieties under development during field days July 24 and 25 in Iberia Parish. 4-H teens get jobs in new Bienville Parish program [Image: library] Fourteen Bienville Parish 4-H’ers learned about the world of work in professional jobs this summer in a new program that’s a joint venture between the LSU AgCenter and the Bienville Parish Police Jury. China Connection: Ag Leadership Program Broadens Knowledge [Image: Great Wall] Cathleen C. Williams writes about the trip to China by members of Class 10 of the LSU AgCenter’s Leadership Development Program. What's New? The following news articles appeared in the spring 2008 issue of Louisiana Agriculture. New high-yielding cane variety to be ready by fall Louisiana sugarcane farmers will have a new sugarcane variety this fall with the release of L 01-283. Developed by the LSU AgCenter in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Sugarcane Research Unit in Houma and the American Sugar Cane League in Thibodaux, L 01-283 is the latest in a series of new varieties for the Louisiana sugarcane industry. Use of glyphosate to enhance sugar production in Louisiana Artificial ripening of sugarcane as a complement to natural maturity is possible because of the development of glyphosate, a plant growth regulator, for use as a chemical ripener that hastens sugarcane maturation and increases sugar yield per ton of cane and per acre. Application of precision agriculture technologies to sugarcane [Image: Figure 1] LSU AgCenter research has demonstrated that conventional, whole-field soil-sampling schemes and field-averaged yields do not satisfactorily describe the variations of yield and soil attributes present in several sugarcane fields. Research suggests a precision management approach. Influence of sugarcane post-harvest residue management on yield, water quality [Image: Edge-of-field runoff collections were sampled] Environmentally conscientious sugarcane growers voluntarily use best management practices (BMPs) to control runoff from production areas. Post-harvest residue management in sugarcane is one area in need of research-based information to determine the best management approach. To burn or not to burn – sugarcane crop residue management [Image: Burning crop residue] At one time the Louisiana sugarcane crop was harvested using mechanical whole stalk harvesters, where stalks were piled in the field and burned to remove leaves before transporting to the mill. Beginning in the mid 1990s, growers shifted to chopper harvesters, where stalks are cut into billets, loaded directly into wagons and transported to the mill. More...