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| Dr. Sonny Viator, LSU AgCenter sugarcane breeder and coordinator at the Iberia Research Station, checks the progress of a sugarcane variety. |
The traditional focus of the Iberia Research Station has been animal husbandry research, but the scope of research has been diversified in recent years to include agronomic crops of economic importance to the area.
The station is in Iberia Parish, just a few miles north of the Gulf of Mexico. It covers 1,137 acres of older sediments of the Mississippi River – soil that typically is used for sugarcane production and pasture. The facility has 1,143 acres, with more than 1,000 acres in pasture. It also has about 400 purebred and crossbred breeding female cattle along with a 200-head feedlot, and 150 acres are devoted to research with agronomic crops.
The LSU AgCenter’s Iberia Research Station will host the St. Mary and Iberia parishes sugarcane field day on July 24. (Click here for details.)
The Iberia Research Station has helped sugarcane farmers with research on variety development and cultural practices related to the soil types and growing conditions of the region, said Dr. David Boethel, LSU AgCenter vice chancellor for research.
Dr. Howard “Sonny” Viator, station coordinator and sugarcane breeder, tests new sugarcane lines that could become varieties.
Viator said the station, working with LSU AgCenter sugarcane breeders Dr. Kenneth Gravois and Dr. Keith Bishoff, the American Sugar Cane League and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service Unit in Houma, La., helps evaluate several hundred genotypes of sugarcane annually. The American Sugar Cane League helps fund the station’s work.
Lines are evaluated for their agronomic merit and sugar content. From initial crossing to a final, released variety can take up to 15 years. The lines are tested in plots at the station, but farmers’ fields also are used for testing – to get a better picture of how a potential variety performs.
“Two-thirds of our cane work is off-station,” Viator said. “The more environments that sugarcane clones are exposed to, the better off breeders are in making decisions.”
Viator said salt pushed inland by hurricanes Rita and Katrina in 2005 adversely affected sugarcane in coastal-area fields, but monitored sites revealed salt levels had decreased by about 70 percent the following year.
“While some areas still have high salinity, most of the sugar belt received enough rain and has the right soil type for the salt to leach out,” he said.
Viator and Dr. Rich Johnson of the USDA are working on precision agriculture approaches to applying nutrients and lime to sugarcane field only where necessary.
Jesse Breaux, a St. Mary Parish sugarcane producer, said the station’s proximity is essential for area farmers.
“That station is right in the heart of the sugarcane industry,” he said.
Breaux said having a station in the area helps with the development of sugarcane varieties because testing is conducted in the same soil and climate farmers have. Varieties that perform better near the Mississippi River don’t always produce as well in the parishes of Iberia, St. Mary and St. Martin, he said.
Biofuel evaluation
The LSU AgCenter is conducting a statewide evaluation of sweet sorghum for use as a biofuel crop. Emphasis is being placed on identifying the best varieties, developing appropriate fertilizer protocols, learning the best times to plant and harvest and determining the feasibility of growing two crops from one planting (ratooning). Field data will be used to conduct an economic analysis to determine cost of production.
Viator is the lead scientist, and sweet sorghum plots are being grown and evaluated at several AgCenter research stations – including the Iberia Research Station – and other locations across Louisiana. Participating researchers are keeping an up-to-date blog monitoring the progress of the crop throughout the year. You can view the blog here.
Cattle research
Dr. Wayne Wyatt, LSU AgCenter beef cattle and forage researcher, recently
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| Cattle are a major part of research efforts at the Iberia Research Station. Projects include work on nutrition, parasites and genetic effects on cattle temperament. A recent breeding project is crossing South African Bonsmara cattle with Angus and Brangus. |
completed a multi-year project evaluating continuous grazing in one large paddock and rotational grazing in eight smaller paddocks, both with low, medium and high stocking rates.
“While there are potentially several advantages to subdividing pastures, the first phase of the research failed to demonstrate a true economic advantage,” Wyatt said. “However, a second phase of the research is being analyzed, and results may vary.”
Wyatt’s current research projects build upon past research involving Brahman-cross cattle conducted at the station. He said Brahman breeding has been important to area beef producers because of the breed’s growth characteristics; parasite and disease resistance; tolerance of the hot, humid environment; and excellent mothering ability.
“We need to evaluate other breed resources that can be added to our cattle to help us meet today’s challenges,” Wyatt said. “The consumer appropriately demands consistent quality in our meat products that provide a pleasurable eating experience. To that end, we are looking for cattle breeds to combine with our current cow herds that might aid us in meeting this meat quality challenge.”
Wyatt’s interest in a South African breed, Bonsmara, was piqued when he heard a presentation on preliminary research indicating enhanced meat tenderness of the breed. In addition to a herd of purebred Bonsmara cattle, the Iberia Research Station is crossing Bonsmara bulls with some of the station’s Angus and Brangus cows. Crossbred calves from these matings will be evaluated for meat quality and cow productivity during the next several years.
The station also conducts research on temperament and resistance or tolerance to internal and external parasites in the Angus and Brangus herds at the station. Dr. Lane Foil, an LSU AgCenter entomologist, has worked with Wyatt on a research program that’s been going on for more than 20 years to develop control methods and evaluate products to combat hornfly infestations in the station’s cattle.
Dr. James Miller, an LSU AgCenter parasitologist, is evaluating the genetics of internal parasite resistance within the station’s Angus and Brangus herds. In cooperation with Dr. Don Franke and Dr. Sid DeRouen, LSU AgCenter animal geneticists, Wyatt is evaluating the genetics of cattle temperament. “One ornery cow can cause considerable damage to farm equipment, not to mention farm personnel,” Wyatt said.
Farmers in the area say they benefit directly from the station’s presence.
Jerome Fitch, a Charolais cattle producer near Jeanerette, said the station helped him establish the Tifton 85 variety of Bermuda grass.
“It’s very hard to get established, and their recommendations really helped us,” Fitch said.
He said the station personnel also give him advice on helping his stock get through the winter.
“I’m very fortunate to be this close to the station,” he said. “Wayne Wyatt and Sonny Viator are very accessible.”
The LSU AgCenter’s vice chancellor said today’s cattle research is building on a rich history.
“The station’s history includes some of the earliest work involving crossbreeding studies with Brahman cattle and the initial research that led to the development of the Brangus breed,” said Dr. David Boethel. “Beef cattle research over the past 25 years has focused on challenges associated with managing cattle herds in the humid, subtropical environment of coastal Louisiana.”
The LSU AgCenter is one of 11 institutions of higher education in the Louisiana State University System. Headquartered in Baton Rouge, it provides educational services in every parish and conducts research that contributes to the economic development of the state. The LSU AgCenter does not grant degrees nor benefit from tuition increases. The LSU AgCenter plays an integral role in supporting agricultural industries, enhancing the environment, and improving the quality of life through its 4-H youth, family and community programs.