Announcements:
• Educational Opportunities
Cotton Master Marketing Seminar April 10-11, 2003 Lubbock, TX

Carl Anderson and Jackie Smith will be teaching an in-depth two-day workshop to help cotton producers obtain the information and skills to develop an effective marketing plan for this coming crop year. Topics to be covered include: in-depth coverage of the current market, developing and utilizing a marketing plan, counter cyclical payments of the new farm bill, and marketing strategies to enhance your cash price and the futures market. The overall purpose of the Cotton Marketing Workshop is to provide the producer with information and the skills to develop and evaluate a written marketing plan for the upcoming year. For more information and cost of the workshop, please contact Jackie Smith, Extension Economist, Lubbock @ (806)746-6101.

Pecan Nut Casebearer Traps:

It is time to get ready for pecan nut casebearer season. Last year the first moths caught in Tornillo were found in traps on April 27. Orders for traps and lures should be placed now so that traps can be out in your orchards by April 15th. I am going to place traps out on April 15 in hopes of getting an early start on the casebearer population. Although, we will be monitoring casebearer for the newsletter, traps will only be checked twice/week and I urge anyone with an orchard to monitor traps on their own for more accurate, site specific information.

Traps and pheromone can be purchased locally from Helena Chemical in Tornillo (Phone #: 764-2227) or El Paso Valley Cotton Association (Phone #: 851-2391). Other distributers of traps and pheromone include: Gemplers (Item # R01259, 1-800-769-9225) and IPM Technologies (Item # TR-3236K, 1-800-235-0285). Other items good to have on hand prior to the first egg lay are: a 10x hand lens (Gemplers or IPM Technologies), flagging tape (to recheck eggs), a marker and a data sheet. I will be sending in an order for some hand lenses, so if you are interested and do not want to order them on your own please call the office and let Renee or myself know.

Alfalfa:

There is a wide range of fields out there, some are looking great and will be cut soon, but there are also some fields that got hit hard by aphids this year. As it warms up, aphid populations should start being held in check by the increasing beneficial populations.

I have seen some alfalfa weevil larvae in a few fields and have heard reports of higher populations east of El Paso. Alfalfa weevil was an economic pest of alfalfa in years past and has not been seen much recently. First and second cuttings of alfalfa are most affected by high numbers of alfalfa weevil. Adult weevils lay eggs in late fall, winter and early spring in groups of 1-40/alfalfa stem. Fall laid eggs hatch in early spring, while spring laid eggs hatch several weeks later. Larvae are light green in color with a black head capsule. As they mature larvae become darker green with a white stripe down their back, similar to the alfalfa caterpiller. Larvae feed for 3-4 weeks on the terminal and upper leaves, stunting the plant. Fields with infestations from both fall and spring laid eggs can have feeding damage for 6 to 8 weeks. Large populations can defoliate plants just in time for the first cutting and can even reduce yield on the second cutting. After the larvae pupate and young adults emerge, they leave the field to nearby protected areas for a summer resting period then return to the field in the fall. Economic thresholds for alfalfa weevil sampled with a sweep net are: plant height is 7-14" = 20 larvae/sweep and 40/sweep near cutting. For more information please call our office.