Pond Management: Algae By Mario Villarino
Aquatic vegetation management can be a perplexing problem. The first part of that problem is proper identification. Management of most aquatic plant species depends on properly identifying the desirable or nuisance plant. Many ponds have more than one type of aquatic plant, and care must be taken to identify all the aquatic plants inhabiting the pond. Some pond plants may be beneficial to local or migratory wildlife, and therefore,...
Blackberries: Friend or Foe By Mario Villarino
As I started mowing more often and visiting sites around Hopkins County, the Blackberry weed has lately come into conversation often. Blackberries are plants that can be friends or foe depending of the intensity of the numbers of plants and purpose of the land. Some people might welcome them while others might have issues having them in their property. According to work done by the Noble Foundation in Oklahoma , Blackberry (Rubus sp.)...
Feeding Cattle Grain-Based Diets By Mario Villarino
As our spring season begins to take on, our availability of grasses begins to increase also. During this time of the year, our weaned cattle usually turns into a grazing feeding pattern without too many complications. It is however, more challenging to convert the steers into a grain diet later on, or in the particular case of steer pen shows, to get them into the feeding portion all together. Properly starting a calf on feed and...
Understanding your Lawn: St. Augustine Grass By Mario Villarino
Understanding your lawn: St Augustine grass As our temperatures steadily increase and maintain temperatures, so is our desire and interest in the garden and lawns. After last weekend, the consultations coming to the extension offices related to lawn issues increased significantly. Common questions related St. Augustine grass lawns. St Agustine grass (Stenotaphrum secundatum (Walt.) Kuntze), is a perennial robust grass widely used for...
Recomendations for Gardens By Mario Villarino
Here the recommendations for the garden from Texas A&M AgriLife Extension, Dr. Bill Welch for January- February: Now is an excellent time to transplant mature or established trees and shrubs while they are dormant. Make flower and vegetable garden plans now before the rush of spring planting. Time spent in armchair gardening before the fireplace will pay off in improved plant selection. Besides, it is fun to page through the...
Trees In The Landscape and Their Importance By Mario Villarino
Although many gardeners and homeowners pay close attention to lawns, trees in the landscape play a significant role in the value of the property as landscape and the reason is quite simple: A lawn can be prepared and re-established in one year, even when a complete overhaul is needed. Trees in the other hand, are a significant time and money investment in the landscape. Although our modern landscape technologies and companies can...
4-H and FFA Validation Dates for Major and NETLA Show By Mario Villarino
4-H and FFA Validation dates for Major and NETLA show Texas is privileged to have the largest junior breeding heifer program in the nation. However, the sheer size of Texas, diversity in counties and beef breed associations has created some challenges for effectively and fairly managing the program. Because of numerous breed divisions offered, there are inconsistencies in how breed associations record purchase and transfer...
The Importance of Maintaining Agricultural Markets By Mario Villarino
The importance of maintaining agricultural markets During my years in agriculture (basically all my life) I have seen agricultural related industries adapting to market changes. During my years in Veterinary School, I held an externship chair in a well-known pharmaceutical medical company with headquarters in Germany. It was a great opportunity and I enjoyed the multi-cultural atmosphere maintained by the company and the team work...
Camp! Camp! Camp!
Whew! We’re already into July and I’m tired (in a good sort of way!) “Kids’ Camp: Fun, Food, Fitness” started off with a great group of 1st thru 4th grade students. So far, they have learned about MyPlate, the Fruit Group, the Grains Group, No-Cook Meals, the Protein Group, Pet safety, Poison Control, 1st aid, weather, and participated in a t-shirt design contest. They also participated in Walk Across Texas, yoga, team sports, Herbs,...
Hot and Humid Issues; Coming Events
by Mario Villarino Just as I started thinking about this week notes, and as I was watching rain on and off in Sulphur Springs, I recalled the issue related to molds growing in our crops. The critical part of a healthy plant environment is for the rain cycles to have a chance to dry out. Although plants enjoy watering, certainly too much of it can become a problem. A good optimal environment in the ground is to have an...
