Carolina Horsenettle (Solanum carolinense) A warm season perennial, Carolina horse nettle can grow to 2 feet tall. It has dark green leaves that are sharply lobed with a pointed tip. Carolina horse nettle has large spines on the stems and leaves. Each of its mostly oval leaves has several teeth or shallow lobes on both sides. Horse nettle has clusters of white to purple flowers and they bloom May to October. Horse nettle also produces a fruit that is about 1/2 inch in diameter; it is green with… Read More →

Who Needs Limestone: Many Texas soils are acid soils; that is, the soil pH is less than 7.0. Soil acidity is caused by various environmental, climatic, and cultural factors. The most common of these factors are: Parent material from which the soil is derived. Leaching by rainfall or irrigation that removes basic elements such as calcium, magnesium, and sodium from the soil profile leaving acidic hydrogen, aluminum, and manganese. Cultural practices such as nitrogen fertilization, removal of harvested crops and associated basic elements, and soil erosion, which results… Read More →

Crabgrass is a warm-season annual grass that is commonly found in pastures and hay meadows in parts of Texas. Relative to other warm-season annual grasses, crabgrass has a low- to medium-yield potential but is high in forage quality. As such, it is often a desirable component in pastures and is sometimes planted for forage in pastures. As is the case with many annual grass species, crabgrass is a prolific seed producer which enables new stands to establish in subsequent growing seasons for summer grazing. Due to its high-volume… Read More →

Friday, April 5, 2024 VIRTUAL PROGRAM Hosted by Dr. Vanessa Corriher-Olson and Dr. Jason Banta Pest Control in the Pasture Pesticide Modes of Action External Parasite Control Drift Management and Drone Use in Agriculture Weed Control in Pastures and Hay Meadows   Program starts 8:30 am Adjourn 3:00 pm 5 Pesticide CEUs Available  Meeting will be conducted with ZOOM   Registration Deadline: Thursday April 4 at 11:00 am Register online at: https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/ereg/index.php?eventid=786170& For more information on this program please contact Michelle Sensing @ 903-847-0611        … Read More →

After a cold, dreary winter we get anxious about our warm season perennial pastures and hay meadows. We start panicking about the winter weeds we see growing, the volunteer ryegrass we see growing and we start making calls to our local fertilizer retailer. Find more information about dealing with volunteer ryegrass here and dealing with winter weeds here. Now, let’s take a moment and talk about the RIGHT time to fertilize our warm season pastures/hay meadows.   First and foremost, soil test. If you have not done so… Read More →

Mayweed chamomile, often called dog fennel, stinking chamomile, or stinking mayweed is an annual bushy broadleaf plant that germinates in early spring. Mayweed chamomile inhabits crop fields, roadsides, pastures, hay meadows and other disturbed, unmanaged sites. Leaves are alternate to one another along the stem, are lobed to deeply divided, and nearly hairless to hairy. Mayweed chamomile can have a spreading form or be an erect plant, reaching 6 inches to 3 feet long. A distinguishing characteristic of mayweed is it’s unpleasant odor. Flowering takes place from spring… Read More →

Friday, April 5, 2024 Hosted by Dr. Vanessa Corriher-Olson and Dr. Jason Banta Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center 1710 N. Hwy 3053, Overton, TX 75684 Virtual (Zoom)   Pest Control in the Pasture Pesticide Modes of Action Drift Management and Drone Use in Agriculture External Parasite Control Weed Control in Pastures and Hay Meadows   Program starts 8:30 am Adjourn 3:00 pm   5 Pesticide CEUs Available  FLYER Registration: Cost: $35/ person Registration Deadline: Thursday April 4, 2024 @ 11 am Register online at: https://agriliferegister.tamu.edu/ereg/index.php?eventid=786170&;  … Read More →

Most people think these forages are a species of their own. But they are not. They are hybrid varieties of Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon). Bermudagrass is a warm-season perennial grass that spreads mainly by rhizomes (underground stems) and stolons (horizontal aboveground stems).  The grass tolerates a wide range of soil types and soil pH values, thus making it adapted to most of the southern US.  ‘Coastal’: A hybrid between ‘Tift’ bermudagrass, a vigorous growing bermudagrass found in an old field near Tifton, Georgia, and an introduction from South Africa. … Read More →

Texas groundsel or Texas squaw-weed (Senecio ampullaceus) is a cool-season annual broadleaf plant that grows to 12 to 30 inches tall. The plants are often whitish with hair, but can be nearly hairless.  The unlobed, clasping leaves gradually reduce in size toward the top of the plant. Showy yellow flowers are produced in the spring.  Texas groundsel is found in the eastern half of the state and is abundant on sandy soils and may be a predominant species in freshly cleared forest. Members of the genus Senecio can… Read More →

Soil additives are different from traditional fertilizers and soil amendments in that they usually have little or no nutrient content. There is no requirement for these products to have a guaranteed analysis label, as long as they make no claim(s) regarding fertilizer value (i.e. N-P-K). Many of these products state on the label that they are not a substitute for a fertilizer program, but enhance the effectiveness of fertilizer normally applied or make nutrients in the soil more available to the crop. They are claimed to improve soil… Read More →