Agriculture

Internal dry rot of satsuma fruits. (Photos by Raj Singh/LSU AgCenter)

Internal dry rot of satsuma fruits. (Photos by Raj Singh/LSU AgCenter)

Bugs, late-blooming trees may affect citrus yields

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, December 9, 2022
Citrus is the most popular kind of fruit grown in Louisiana. This time of year, satsumas and other types of citrus are abundant — and delicious. Several biotic and abiotic stresses affect citrus yields, however, and may dishearten home gardeners when they cannot enjoy their harvest.
Fallen leaves provide shelter for many butterfly and moth species. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Fallen leaves provide shelter for many butterfly and moth species. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

‘Leaf’ it to mulch to make your landscape better

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, December 2, 2022
The leaves are falling all over the state now. There are several things you can do with those leaves. One great way to use those leaves to your — and your plants’ — benefit is to use leaf litter as mulch.
Bulbs can be forced by providing the environmental conditions to encourage growth. (LSU AgCenter file photo)

Bulbs can be forced by providing the environmental conditions to encourage growth. (LSU AgCenter file photo)

Forcing bulbs for indoor winter flowers

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, November 18, 2022
The late winter months may lack color in the landscape, but with proper planning and a little effort, you can create an early spring indoors or make a beautiful gift by forcing your own succession of hardy bulbs. Bulbs are perennial plants that overwinter as fleshy, underground structures.
Crystal Besse, left, director of the LSU AgCenter Louisiana Farm to School Program, walks through a squash field with Opelousas farmers Betty and John Chenier. Photo provided by the Louisiana Farm to School Program

Crystal Besse, left, director of the LSU AgCenter Louisiana Farm to School Program, walks through a squash field with Opelousas farmers Betty and John Chenier. Photo provided by the Louisiana Farm to School Program

Winter squash is November’s ‘Louisiana Harvest of the Month’

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, November 4, 2022
Native Americans taught the Puritan settlers many things about life in America, including how to grow and prepare winter squash — a food they had never seen before but that would soon gain popularity and become a regular seasonal planting.
Anthocyanin pigments are responsible for purple and maroon colors of leaves in fall. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

Anthocyanin pigments are responsible for purple and maroon colors of leaves in fall. (Photos by Heather Kirk-Ballard/LSU AgCenter)

The science of fall foliage color change

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, November 4, 2022
Shorter, cooler days bring brilliant foliage color changes for many trees and shrubs in fall. This time of year can be very beautiful as green leaves give way to brilliant colors of gold, orange, maroon, red and yellow. The reason for this color change?
Stickers, also known as stickerweed, spurweed and burweed, germinate in lawns in the fall and produce painful stickers in the spring. (Photo by Ron Strahan/LSU AgCenter)

Stickers, also known as stickerweed, spurweed and burweed, germinate in lawns in the fall and produce painful stickers in the spring. (Photo by Ron Strahan/LSU AgCenter)

Stop stickerweed before it’s too late

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, October 28, 2022
Nothing spoils a nice barefooted walk through the lawn more than stickerweed. Also known as spurweed, stickers or burweed, seeds germinate in the fall and winter months in lawns, particularly where the turf is thin or patchy. When lawns go dormant in the winter, weed problems become evident.
Feral hogs run through a field at the LSU AgCenter Bob R. Jones-Idlewild Research Station near Clinton. (LSU AgCenter file photo)

Feral hogs run through a field at the LSU AgCenter Bob R. Jones-Idlewild Research Station near Clinton. (LSU AgCenter file photo)

Feral hogs costly to Lousiana farmers

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, October 28, 2022
From rooting up crops to destroying farm infrastructure, Louisiana’s growing population of feral hogs causes $91.1 million in damage to agricultural and timber lands each year, according to a newly released LSU AgCenter estimate.
Swamp sunflower is in full bloom in fall and dots Louisiana natural landscapes. (Photo by Anna Ribbeck/LSU AgCenter)

Swamp sunflower is in full bloom in fall and dots Louisiana natural landscapes. (Photo by Anna Ribbeck/LSU AgCenter)

Cheer up with the swamp sunflower

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, October 21, 2022
Bright and cheery yellow sunflowers are popping up everywhere — in ditches along roadways, in open fields, along fence lines and from woodlands to swampy areas. Spread among other native species such as goldenrod (Solidago spp.
A soybean field being harvested. (Photo by Craig Gautreaux/LSU AgCenter)

A soybean field being harvested. (Photo by Craig Gautreaux/LSU AgCenter)

Louisiana farmers now face disappointment at harvest

Harlan Kirgan
Friday, October 21, 2022
To say 2022 has been a challenging year for Louisiana farmers would be an understatement. Back in the spring, as farmers prepared to plant their fields, they knew they would be facing hefty input costs.