more... > Louisiana Agriculture Magazine > Past Issues > 1999 > Winter > LSU animal physiology reproduction program turns 25 [Image: Alumni of the LSU Ag Center’s reproductive physiology program] Helping farm animals have babies efficiently and at the least cost to livestock producers has been the overall goal of the LSU Agricultural Center’s reproductive physiology research program, which celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. A leg up for the chicken industry [Image: figure 1.] Although a valuable source of protein and other nutrients, chicken leg meat is under used in the U.S. market. It is less desirable to consumers and more difficult to remove from the bone than breast meat. Precision seeders for vegetables:How precise are they? [Image: smooth presswheel] Establishing a full stand of field grown plants is necessary for high yields of vegetables. Unfortunately, the grower can not always control factors that hurt stand establishment, such as soil crusting, temperature extremes and excessive soil moisture. Evaluating soybean varieties for late planting in Louisiana [Image: table 1.] Planting soybeans after June 15 is a major production problem in Louisiana. For every day that planting is delayed after June 15, a soybean farmer can expect to lose an average of a half bushel of yield.  more articles... At-planting insecticide treatments provide thrips control in cotton and allow earlier harvest [Image: figure 1.] Thrips are early season insect pests of cotton in Louisiana.Injury to cotton seedlings resulting from thrips’ feeding can delay crop maturity and reduce yields. Impact of prepared seedbeds and bermudagrass sods on performance of annual ryegrass and cereal rye [Image: Table 1.] In the Coastal Plain of northLouisiana, pastures of annual ryegrassand cereal rye, alone or in combination,are made in late summer and fall to reduce dairy and beef cattle wintersupplemental ration requirements and toenhance overall herd performance. New blueberry variety shows promise for expanding production in Louisiana Blueberry production contributes to the local economies of several Louisiana communities, particularly in the northwest and southeast areas of the state. In 1997, blueberry production added $1.5 million to the state’s economy Effects of duration of flowering in grain sorghum on sorghum midge damage Because the sorghum midge depends on flowering sorghum to lay its eggs, understanding how the length of the flowering period affects damage can aid in developing more effective programs to manage this key insect pest. Sorghum midge management in Northeast Louisiana [Image: photo of midge] The sorghum midge is a key pest of grain sorghum in the United States and can cause serious yield losses in Louisiana.The adult midge is a small, red,gnat-like fly about 1.5 millimeters long. Delayed phytotoxicity syndrome of rice [Image: Photo of rice field] Rice plants showing herbicide damage where no herbicides had been applied for several weeks were first found in 1991 in southwest Louisiana. Nutrient uptake of annual ryegrass grown in eight Louisiana soils [Image: Table 1.] Annual ryegrass forage is grown onapproximately 300,000 acres in Louisiana each year. It is planted over the entire state on widely diverse soils.Significant variation in ryegrass performance occurs among these diverse production areas, and reduced forage yields on some soils can limit the benefit of ryegrass for livestock producers. Weed management research in cotton with Staple, Roundup Ready and BXN systems [Image: photo of cotton field] Before 1996, farmers controlled weeds following cotton emergence almost exclusively by directing herbicides underneath the canopy to minimize injury to the cotton plant. Termite detection system on its way to your home Soon a typical home may include a termite detector aswell as a smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector,thanks to Gregg Henderson and Jian Chen of the Departmentof Entomology and Roger Laine of the Department ofBiochemistry. LSU AgCenter gets patent on Formosan termite baits A historic 150-year-old cotton warehouse on NewOrleans’ riverfront near the Garden District is the test site of a new patented bait system that holds promise of controlling the dreaded Formosan subterranean termite. Click for more information...