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- Author or Editor: David A. Bender x
A system of intercropping cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.) with Indian mustard [Brassica juncea (L.) Czern.] to reduce pesticide applications was evaluated over three cropping seasons. Insects were monitored in nonintercropped cabbage, cabbage plots surrounded by Indian mustard, and the Indian mustard intercrop. Insecticide applications were made to individual plots based on specific treatment thresholds for lepidopterous insects and accepted pest management practices for other insects. Intercropping had no significant effect on the number of lepidopterous larvae in cabbage. Indian mustard did not appear to preferentially attract lepidopterous insects, but was highly attractive to hemipterans, especially harlequin bugs [Murgantia histrionica (Hahn)]. In one season with heavy harlequin bug pressure, intercropping with Indian mustard eliminated two insecticide applications to cabbage. Intercropping cabbage with Indian mustard does not appear to be an economical pest management practice under normal pest pressures in West Texas.
A market window for onion occurs when f.o.b. prices are above grower break-even price for a period of 4 to 6 weeks. Market windows were calculated to occur from late June to early August and from early October through December for northwest Texas onions. Five-year average prices ranged from $6.25 to $7.40 (1990–94), and a breakeven price of $5.38/50-lb sack was calculated from an analysis of total costs of production and marketing and historic yields. Ongoing research and grower demonstrations with advanced breeding lines, commercial cultivars, and selections from yellow, white, and red cultivars have defined certain cultivars that display superior attributes and mature within the market window. Superior cultivars adapted to the first market window include XPH-87N60, `Sunre 1445', `Sunre 1462', `Yula', `Spano', `Cimarron', `Riviera', `Utopia', and `Alabaster'. Superior cultivars adapted to the second market window include `Sweet Perfection', `Sterling', `Vega', `Bravo', `Capri', `Vaquero', `El Charro', `Quest', `Shasta', and `Vision'. `Vaquero', `Sunre 1462', `Sunre 1445', `El Charro', and `Viceroy' have potential for short-term storage for October to December markets.
Thrips are the major insect pest of onions grown in South Texas. Four cultivars, `IPA-3', `TG1015Y', `1664' (glossy control), and `1900B' (waxy control), were grown in a split-plot design with insecticide sprayed or nonsprayed treatments as the main plots and cultivar as the subplots. The experiment was conducted at the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Weslaco, Texas, in the 1995-96 season. The objectives of the study were to compare `IPA-3' and `TG1015Y' for thrips resistance and evaluate possible resistance mechanisms that may be present in `IPA-3'. The average number of thrips per plant and leaf damage rating were significantly higher for `TG1015Y', indicating that some resistance is present in `IPA-3'. However, there were no significant differences in yield between the two cultivars. A comparison of leaf wax characteristics indicated no significant difference between `TG1015Y' and `IPA-3' using gravimetric or gas chromatography techniques. However, scanning electron micrographs of `TG1015Y' leaves appeared more similar to `1900B' and `IPA-3' appeared more similar to `1664'. The insecticide spray treatment had significantly fewer thrips, less damage, and higher yield than the nonsprayed treatment.