Polk Small Farms: New and Revised Agriculture Publications, July 2014

July publications in the Agriculture program area include:

· Crops: BMPS for tomato and watermelon, an emerging pest for hay producers, purslane in fruiting vegetables, powdery mildew in beans

· Livestock: managing cowherd productivity, Florida Bull Test results, reproductive efficiency in dairy herds, and genetic influences on uterine disease in dairy cows.

Agriculture
Crops
	*Bagrada Bug, Painted Bug, Bagrada Hilaris* (Burmeister) (Insecta: Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)** The bagrada bug is a pest of concern to Florida agriculture, and there are several similar species with which it may be confused. Bagrada bugs have been detected on plant material in trucks traveling across state borders. Twelve interceptions have been made from 2011-2013 at the FDACS agricultural inspection stations along the interstate at the Florida border. Due to the number of recent interceptions, and the ability of this pest to feed on many plants, the bagrada bug has potential to establish in Florida. Therefore, monitoring, surveillance, and educational efforts have begun in Florida to facilitate early detection and rapid response as the spread of the bagrada bug continues to other areas. This 7-page fact sheet was written by Eric LeVeen and Amanda C. Hodges, and published by the UF Department of Entomology and Nematology, July 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/in1041
	Bermudagrass Stem Maggot: A New Pest in Florida Bermudagrass is a dominant hay crop in Florida. Now, hay producers are facing a new emerging pest problem in bermudagrass and stargrass production fields. The bermudagrass stem maggot, is a new exotic invasive fly. It was first discovered damaging bermudagrass pasture and hay fields in Georgia. The identification of the fly was the first record of this species in North America, and it has the potential to become a serious pest of bermudagrass and stargrass in Florida. This 2-page fact sheet was written by Ann Blount, Tim Wilson, Jay Ferrell, Russ Mizell, and Jonael Bosques, and published by the UF Department of Agronomy, June 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ag384
	Biology and Management of Common Purslane in Fruiting Vegetables, Cucurbits, and Strawberries Purslane occurs throughout the year in Florida. It produces thousands of seeds per plant, which germinate readily, but can also persist in the soil for up to 15 years. Vegetative shoot fragments can survive on the soil surface for extended periods of time, then re-root when exposed to moisture and can even flower and produce seeds after they have been pulled from the soil. This characteristic enables purslane to persist and spread following cultivation. This 4-page fact sheet was written by Nathan S. Boyd, Andrew W. MacRae, Rick Kelly, and Ixchel M. Hernandez, and published by the UF Department of Horticultural Sciences, July 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/hs1238
	BMP-Recommended Water and Phosphorus Inputs for Tomato and Watermelon Can Reduce Environmental Losses of Phosphorus and Save Water A BMP study was conducted at the research farm of the UF/IFAS Southwest Florida Research and Education Center in Immokalee, FL. The study evaluated two production systems made up of two levels of water and fertilizer inputs for tomato and watermelon production with seepage irrigation. The average water and P fertilizer rates used by growers in south Florida were contrasted with the recommended BMP rates. Applying BMP-recommended water and phosphorus (P) inputs for seepage-irrigated tomato and watermelon in Florida can reduce water use and P leaching to groundwater without adversely impacting fruit yield. However, given the adverse impacts on watermelon yield due to lower than sufficient levels of K, further research is needed to evaluate the fertilizer recommendations for watermelon, especially K2O rates, to ensure economic viability of farms. Our results showed that adoption of BMP-recommended P rates as a BMP did not reduce crop yield and improved water quality. This 4-page fact sheet was written by Sanjay Shukla, Gregory S. Hendricks, Thomas A. Obreza, and Willie G. Harris, and published by the UF Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, June 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae504
	Management of Powdery Mildew in Beans Powdery mildew is one of the most commonly occurring diseases on many types of beans. Although the causal organism rarely causes extensive damage, significant yield losses were reported in Columbia County when infection occurred in dry beans prior to flowering. Accurately identifying this disease and immediately taking action for control are critical to effectively prevent spread of powdery mildew in order to reduce significant losses of yield and quality. This 4-page fact sheet was written by Qingren Wang, Shouan Zhang, and Teresa Olczyk, and published by the UF Department of Plant Pathology, June 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pp311
	Water and Nitrogen BMPs for Tomato and Watermelon: Water Quality and Economics Results of a two-year, four-crop-cycles experiment indicated that the recommended Best Management Practice (BMP) water and fertilizer nitrogen (N) rates for seepage-irrigated tomato in south Florida can reduce water use and N leaching to groundwater without adversely impacting yield. The same is true for watermelon for average rainfall conditions. This 5-page fact sheet was written by Sanjay Shukla, Gregory S. Hendricks, Fritz M. Roka, and Thomas A. Obreza, and published by the UF Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, May 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ae503
Livestock
	Cow Math: Using Weaning Weight to Estimate Cowherd Productivity “You can’t get where you’re going unless you know where you are.” The ability to measure performance is a key component in all beef cow operations, and measuring production efficiency is becoming increasingly important. Regardless of size, producers must be able to identify the current status of their operation in order to make adjustments toward improvement. Identifying and culling the cows within the herd that are less efficient at producing a weaned calf in the environment and management system used on the ranch can be a powerful tool to improve the herd. This 8-page fact sheet was written by Phillip Lancaster and John Arthington, and published by the UF Department of Animal Science, April 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an129
	The Florida Bull Test, 2013-2014 The 2013-2014 Florida Bull Test was a 112-day performance test and a breeding soundness evaluation of each bull that qualified for the auction. Table 1 summarizes feed efficiency data; Table 2 individual feed intake and feed efficiency; and Table 3 individual animal performance. This 10-page fact sheet was written by Vitor R. G. Mercadante, G. Cliff Lamb, and Nicolas DiLorenzo, and published by the UF Department of Animal Sciences, May 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/an301
	Is It Worth Switching from Natural Service to Artificial Insemination? A Comparison of Reproductive Performance and Profitability in Dairy Herds Reproductive efficiency is a key determinant of dairy cow profitability. A considerable portion of dairy producers in the United States still use NS in at least part of their breeding program. This 3-page fact sheet presents the results of papers that compared the reproductive performance and profitability of dairy cows submitted to natural service or a combination of timed AI and natural service. Written by Klibs N. Galvão, Eduardo S. Ribeiro, and Jose Eduardo P. Santos, and published by the UF Department of Veterinary Medicine-Large Animal Clinical Sciences, June 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm200
	Should Genetics Be Blamed for High Incidence of Uterine Disease in Dairy Cows? Uterine diseases are highly prevalent in high-producing dairy cows. They have been associated with decreased pregnancy per artificial insemination (AI), extended interval to pregnancy, increased culling, and economic losses. This 3-page fact sheet presents the results of a recent paper that examined how alterations on the TLR genes, which control innate immune response, affect the susceptibility to uterine diseases. Written by Klibs N. Galvão, Christopher M. Seabury, and Pablo Pinedo, and published by the UF Department of Veterinary Medicine-Large Animal Clinical Sciences, May 2014. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/vm197