Over the past few months, I have had a number of questions about pesticide drift onto organic fields, pesticide applicators who want to know where organic fields are located, organic growers who want pesticide applicators to know about organic fields, and conventional growers who want to know where organic fields are located. That is a lot of information to keep track of but there may be a system!
I reached out to FieldWatch and Curt Hadley who is Business Development Manager for Field Watch and is a great contact for what they do. In the process of visiting with Curt about Field Watch and how it might benefit organic growers in Texas he quickly said, “I need to write this down and make it available to your growers!” Here is his thoughts….
“How New Areas Can Approach the Need for FieldWatch Registries”
by Curt Hadley
We are often asked how new states / provinces / areas join FieldWatch and bring the registries to their areas. With 24 US states, Washington DC and 1 Canadian Province in Saskatchewan in the registry network we could tell you that they all joined the same – that would be far from the truth! The fact is that there are many ways that states / provinces / areas have joined and brought the registries to their respective areas, but there is one common thread……just click this link to go to the website and read Curt’s article (How New Areas Can Approach the Need for FieldWatch Registries – FieldWatch)
As the Extension Organic Specialist, I would like to know if this is something I need to help organize for Texas and Texas organic producers. I am willing, but I do need to hear from you to make it happen. Bob
Recently I was contacted by Gowan to provide support as they apply to the Texas Department of Agriculture for a 24c Special Local Need Registration for Badge X2 fungicide. The product already has a label and OMRI Certification, but it does not have a label use for organic rice in Texas. If approved this takes care of that issue and we are in hopes that Badge X2 fungicide will get approval for use in this rice season.
According to Gowan, “Badge® X2 is an OMRI listed, patented, dry formulation of copper hydroxide and copper oxychloride. The copper hydroxide releases copper ions fast for immediate plant protection, while the copper oxychloride slowly releases copper ions for extended residual control PLUS excellent wash-off resistance for the best protection possible during and after rains.”
The 24C Special Local Need registration will for applications of Badge X2 for control of both Brown Spot (Cochliobolus miyabeanus page 79 in the 2023 Rice Handbook) and Narrow Brown Leaf Spot (Cercospora janseana page 78 in the 2023 Rice Handbook)
This link will take you to a proposed 24c label for using Badge X2 in organic rice. Badge X2 Organic Rice Fungicide This label is not approved yet! But it will help you better understand the product and use rates. This is a link to information from a test that Dr. Shane Zhou conducted at the Beaumont Rice Research Center. Click to see study results
Brown spot, caused by Cochliobolus miyabeanus (pictured above), is one of the most common diseases of rice in Texas. The disease is present in seedlings and young and matured plants. The fungal pathogen attacks the coleoptiles, leaves, leaf sheaths, branches of the panicle, glumes, and grain. Although the disease is present at all rice growing stages, it does not necessarily cause significant economic losses. Significant yield losses can occur due to prolonged extremely wet weather, when unfavorable soil conditions such as N deficiency occurs, or when the pathogen attacks panicles. Brown spot can attack seedlings, causing seedling blight. Lesions on leaves can be found throughout the growing season. The pathogen typically produces circular to oval lesions. The lesions vary in size and color. On young leaves, spots are small, dark brown to reddish-brown. On older leaves, spots are relatively large and have a light brown to grey center surrounded by a reddish-brown margin and a gold halo. The lesions may coalesce, killing large areas of infected leaves. Brown spot is usually common in main and ratoon crops and can become severe as plants approach maturity. Symptoms on leaves, leaf sheaths, and hulls are similar. Symptoms also appear on glumes, causing black discoloration. The disease can reduce the number of grain per panicle and the weight of kernels.
Narrow brown leaf spot (also called Cercospora leaf spot) is caused by the fungus Cercospora janseana. The severity of the disease has increased over the years, and it is now considered one of the most important rice diseases in Texas. The disease tends to be more severe at late plantings and in the ratoon crop, causing premature ripening and reducing yield and milling quality. Generally, the disease is more severe in the ratoon crop than in the main crop. The fungus attacks the leaves, sheaths, internodes, panicle branches and glumes. On leaf blades, it causes short, linear, narrow, brown lesions that are parallel to the leaf veins. As plants approach maturity, leaf spotting can greatly increase on the more susceptible varieties and result in severe leaf blighting and premature death. Infection of the leaf sheaths results in a large, brown blotch or “net blotch” caused by the browning of the leaf veins. The fungus also can cause a “neck blight,” where the internodal area above and below the node at the base of the panicle becomes light brown to tan. The affected area dies and the kernels in the lower portion of the panicle fail to fill. Low nitrogen levels increase the severity of this disease (a real issue for organic rice producers!).
As more information is made available we will make it available to organic rice producers. As with any OMRI approved organic product you will need to check with your organic certifier before applying to your organic crop.
Sorghum plants with increasing levels of salt concentration
This research report starts off with this first sentence, “An increase in salt concentration in the soil, i.e., soil salinity, is becoming a significant problem worldwide, as it is prevailing in all climates. Almost 7% of the earth’s land surface has become saline prone (Ruiz-Lozano et al., 2001), and the increased salinization of arable land will result in 30% land loss by 2030 and up to 50% by 2050 (Porcel et al., 2012).”
If you have been involved in farming any length of time you know what salt does to crop land and you know that the salt concentrations happen slowly over time, but they do happen! How does it happen? Usually, it is through irrigation water and lack of rainfall. Almost all irrigation water has some salts in the water and this minor amount is not too bad until drought and then the salts accumulate and cause problems. Salts can also build up in high rainfall. Typically, these salts move through the soil till they reach an impermeable area and so move laterally through the soil. They will move till they pool in the lower field areas and these pools of underground water are salty. Salts can also accumulate through fertilizer or manure applications both of which can be very salty.
Fortunately, these salts are usually in such low concentrations that we never notice how they are affecting plants, but they can affect plants. AM fungi are known to improve plant performance under stress, and they are naturally found in organic systems where they do improve plant yields through a number of pathways. What we don’t do is supplement or augment AM fungi to help these plants overcome salt stress.
A great table in this study shows the crops (wheat, cucumber, basil, alfalfa, pepper, pigeon pea, squash), the AM fungi (Rhizophagus irregularis, Glomus mosseae, funneliformis mosseae, Glomus versiforme, Glomus monosporum, etc) that can colonize on these plants for salt stress relief and the effect the AM fungi had on the plant growth (increased leaf area, increased plant growth, increased nutrient uptake, increased stomata conductance, etc.). Why is this important to you as a grower? These AM Fungi are available to you to apply to fields. The science behind these AM fungi and the industry that supports the organic grower are now able to produce, package and make available these for use on the farm!
So, you may ask yourself, why am I reading boring research reports? There is always a hope that something will stand out and make a difference for organic farming and maybe this is one of those things. To read more here is a link to the report: Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi for salinity stress: Anti-stress role and mechanisms
There is a lot of money moving into organic and organic transition now that has not been there before. First, we are in the process of beginning the Transition to Organic Partnership Program or what I call Texas TOPP. We are announcing the hiring of a Texas TOPP Program Coordinator and we are about to roll out an Organic Mentor program to help those who want to transition to organic certification. Second, NRCS is announcing the assistance program for transitioning organic farmers. You can read more about that here and be sure to click on some of the links in the website to learn even more! ($75 Million Organic Assistance Program) Third, there is the TOGA program which provides crop insurance assistance for Transitioning to Organic farmers. (TOGA Program Highlights) Fourth, there is and will be assistance to help with your organic certification costs coming later. I am not an expert in these programs but I do know people who are, call if I can help!
Here are the dates of upcoming programs and most have some presentation that will include organic. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to call or email because things do change!
Tuesday, June 27 – Eagle Lake Rice Field Day (depending on water availability for rice research) held at the Rice Research Center with meal and program following the field day at Eagle Lake Community Center.
Thursday, July 13 – Beaumont Rice Field Day held at the Rice Research Center near Beaumont.
Sunday-Tuesday, August 6-8 – Southern Family Farmers & Food Systems Conference annual event jointly hosted by the Farm and Ranch Freedom Alliance, Small Producers Initiative at Texas State University, and Council for Healthy Food Systems. Click here for more information
Thursday, August 31 – South Plains Organic Cotton/Peanut Field Day near Seminole.
Tuesday, October 17 – Wednesday, October 18 – 2023 Organic Conference, Georgetown, Texas. All things growing organic or becoming organic! Contact: Kate Hajda, County Extension Horticulturist
Thursday, January 11, 2024 – Friday, January 12, 2024 – Organic Growers Conference, Dallas Research and Extension Center. Contact: Dr. Joe Masabni, Extension Horticulturist
Organic rice producers were able to attend two meetings in March about LockDown Liquid use in organic rice, one in Nada and one in Beaumont. A big thanks to Greg Devillier, Douget’s Rice Mill and Vivian Spanihel, American Rice Growers for arranging the meetings.
LockDown Liquid is sold by Agricultural Research Initiatives and Kelly Cartwright. Kelly was able to make the meetings and discuss both how LockDown works and how it should be applied in 2023 to control Northern Jointvetch and possibly other weeds as well. It’s great to have affordable organic weed control when things get bad! (read a previous post about weed control)
If you are interested in purchasing LockDown Liquid for use on your organic rice acres then we do need to get the orders in soon. We are shooting for a June application, but this will require an order to be made soon (April 15-May 1). Cost is $15 per acre and orders require the number of acres to be sprayed (3 liters per acre).
Texas A&M AgriLife Organic 