Research from the NC Agricultural Research Service

I am very excited about the publication of “Biology and Management of Hessian Fly in the Southeast”, as well as a new video produced by the North Carolina Small Grain Growers Associatio...

North Carolina has awarded $1.2 million in specialty crops grants, some of which targets organic production.

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North Carolina State University received five of the grants, some geared directly toward improving the states already thriving organic farming enterprise. The state is one of few in the Southeast with an ongoing organic crops research and outreach program.

"Chris Reberg-Horton, who heads the North Carolina State organic crops program, says these crops are growing in size and economic importance to North Carolina and the Carolina-Virginia region.  ... "

Grain sorghum acreage is up an estimated five times more than last year in North Carolina and interest in growing the crop in other Southeastern states is increasing.

Dr. Randy Weisz, grain specialist, says growers may want to think twice about double cropping wheat & sorghum, since sorghum root compounds may inhibit wheat yield. This phenomenon is called allelopathy.

Read more of his extensive cultivation  & cropping system suggestions.

"Dr. Tzung-Fu Hsieh specializes in systems biology, a relatively new research field which studies  interactions between the components of biological systems, and how those relationships affect system functions and behaviors. His area of focus is known as epigenetics, which seeks to understand changes in gene behaviors which are caused by factors other than mutations in DNA.

Epigenetics plays an important role in plant development.

For example, Hsieh studies the development of endosperms, the placenta-like tissue inside the seeds of most flowering plants, that nourish the embryo. Endosperm plays a critical role in human nutrition and health, accounting for more than 75 percent of the world’s food supply, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). That’s because cereal crops like corn, rice and wheat – some of the most widely produced crops in the world – are harvested for their grains, which are mostly endosperm."

See full press release on the PHHI web site for more details on their newest researcher.

http://plantsforhumanhealth.ncsu.edu/

The decision to spray for Hessian fly in a fall wheat crop is not an easy one."

CALS Entomologist, Dr. Dominic Reisig, explains.

Based on last year’s success and the ongoing high prices for soybeans for double-cropping, North Carolina growers are expected to plant another record crop of wheat this fall.

Weed specialist & researcher, Wes Everman, will be the primary speaker.

North Carolina State University Small Grains Specialist Randy Weisz recently showed a group of grain growers a series of large wheat plots planted at seeding rates ranging from 1.1 million seed per acre all the way up to 2 million seed per acre.

He explains how growers can optimize yield by using an efficient planting density, which reduces unnecessary seed cost. He suggests using a simple new tool from The North Carolina Grain Growers Association. The recently developed tool is a simple calculator/slide rule that will make that conversion for the grower. “It’s a neat little tool that is easy to use to convert seed per acre to pounds of seed per acre,” Weisz says.