A team of LSU AgCenter researchers, along with those from four other universities, have been awarded a U.S. Department of Agriculture National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant of more than $5 million to develop sweet potato varieties resistant to the invasive guava root-knot nematode.
Read MoreThe 3,000-acre Central Research Station south of Baton Rouge is the one among the LSU AgCenter’s 15 research stations that has brought about the most international acclaim, but it is little known outside of the LSU campus.
The fame came from two remarkable events that happened there. Back in 2000, the world’s first transgenic goat was born at the station and then cloned to create a herd of goats that produced a substance in their milk that could be turned into a valuable heart medication. This was four years after Scotland’s historic Dolly the sheep was cloned.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter will host a crop production meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at the Scott Center on the Macon Ridge Research Station in Winnsboro, La. The meeting will focus on strategies for diversifying crop production in the northeastern region of the state.
Read MoreTucked in the rolling hills of Washington Parish sits the LSU AgCenter Southeast Research Station. Pastures, barns and a milking parlor dot the landscape as do the dairy cows that are the focus of the research at the station.
Established in 1944, the station opened at a time when many families in the Florida Parishes had at least a few dairy cows. The Franklinton Chamber of Commerce had been working for several years to get an experiment station in the area to conduct research applicable to dairy and beef cattle.
Read MoreFor decades, LSU AgCenter researchers have sought to alter female horses’ reproductive cycles to help them become pregnant earlier and give birth at the beginning of the year to meet the needs of the competitive racing and show horse industry.
Read MoreOysters and fish represent the vibrant heritage of the Gulf Coast and a traditional way of life for the people of Louisiana. It is important to keep oyster and fish populations healthy and growing in the estuaries and along the Gulf Coast. The genetic resources of these fish and shellfish are what makes them suited for life here in Louisiana, and those genetic resources need to be protected.
Read MoreIn the past 10 years, Raj Singh and his staff at the LSU AgCenter Plant Diagnostic Center have examined thousands of plant samples mailed to them by home gardeners and commercial growers in search of answers to their horticultural problems.
From fungal infections to insect pests to nutrient deficiencies, the Plant Diagnostic Center has seen it all.
Read MoreWetlands are a prominent part of Louisiana and managing them well is critical for the future. The School of Renewable Natural Resources has a leading role in supporting management of forested wetlands of the state through research, teaching and extension. Two recent events — establishment of the Forested Wetlands Observatory and the Louisiana Coastal Forest Workshop — promise to be landmarks in progress toward improving science and management in forested wetlands.
Read More2021 Corn Hybrid Trails For Louisiana growers.
Read MoreIn areas of Louisiana where rice and soybean rotations are common, aerial blight of soybean (Figure 1) is a major problem. The fungal pathogen Rhizoctonia solani also causes sheath blight of rice (Figure 2). Since the late 1990s, strobilurin fungicides, which are known as Qol fungicides, have been used extensively in rice and soybean production to combat many foliar diseases. During the 2010s, field failures using these materials to manage aerial blight and sheath blight began to occur, particularly in the southwest portion of the state where 70%-75% of Louisiana rice is produced.
Read MoreThe 2018 Farm Bill cleared the way for the commercial production of hemp within the United States and, in so doing, established hemp as a row crop alternative with the potential to be economically lucrative for U.S. producers.
Within the provisions of the 2018 Farm Bill, each state that was interested in the cultivation of hemp had to submit an industrial hemp production plan to the U.S. Department of Agriculture for preliminary approval before any hemp-related activities could begin. Louisiana’s state industrial plan for the production of hemp was approved by the USDA in December of 2019.
Read MoreTwo model farms are demonstrating the benefits of using the best agricultural practices to address key issues in farming, a project resulting from a $1.4 million grant from the Patrick F. Taylor Foundation to the LSU AgCenter.
Scientists working on the grant are looking at grain crops, cotton and sugarcane, which represent 65% of the total acreage of agricultural production in Louisiana.
Through field days geared toward farmers from the region, the model farms will showcase the tools and practices that researchers have developed that can improve the economics and environmental outcomes of agricultural production.
Read MoreThe Louisiana Agriculture Hall of Distinction is still accepting nominations through Dec. 3 for its induction ceremony, which will be held March 24, 2022, in Baton Rouge.
The nomination form can be found online at www.louisianaagriculturehallofdistinction.com or at any parish LSU AgCenter extension office.
The nomination form should include the nominee’s major contributions to Louisiana agriculture, any leadership roles, honors and awards received by the nominee, and significant civic and public service accomplishments performed by the nominee.
Read MoreThe LSU AgCenter and College of Agriculture have named Monica Guient assistant vice president for diversity, inclusion and opportunity. Her start date is Feb. 1.
Guient has previously worked in roles overseeing diversity and academic programs at Binghamton University, which is part of the State University of New York system, and Xavier University of Louisiana.
Read MoreFrom admiring beautiful flowers to getting your hands dirty in the woods to learning about historic art and lifeways, there’s something for everyone this winter at Burden Museum & Gardens.
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