Nematodes? Crop rotation can help

The temptation through much of the Texas Southern Plains in 2011 will be to eliminate or reduce acreage of rotation crops and concentrate on cotton while prices are at or near all-time highs.

That could be a mistake, says Texas AgriLife Extension pathologist Jason Woodward. But farmers should choose rotation crops carefully to make certain they disrupt a pest’s life cycle, especially fields infested with root-knot nematodes.

It’s a factor that becomes more and more important as farmers continue to combat nematodes, a problem that will become more difficult to adjust to with the loss of Temik over the next few years.

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