AgriLife Extension Wildlife & Fisheries
AgriLife Extension Wildlife & FisheriesTeaching, Research, Extension and Service

Range, brush program set for July 8 in Brown County

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Susan Himes, 325-657-7315, Susan.Himes@ag.tamu.edu

Contact: Scott Anderson,  325-646-0386, Scott.Anderson@ag.tamu.edu

BROWNWOOD — The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service’s  Brown County Range and Brush Program will be held July 8 at the Brown County Fairgrounds, 4206 U.S. Highway 377 S. in Brownwood.

Registration will begin at 2:30 p.m., with the program running from 3-8 p.m. A meal will be provided.

The fee is $35 with preregistration or $45 at the door. Preregistration is requested by July 1 by calling 325-646-0386.

Five Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units are available for licensed pesticide applicators.

“Brush encroachment continues to be an expensive problem to deal with,” said Scott Anderson, AgriLife Extension agent, Brown County. “It doesn’t take long for weeds and brush to choke out good desirable grasses, forcing a reduction in stocking rates of livestock.

“The wet weather this spring is causing weeds and brush to outgrow our pasture grasses. If left unchecked, these pasture invaders can even make large areas undesirable for some wildlife.”

Speakers and topics include:

  • Controlling Invasive Grasses in Pastures – Dr. Bob Lyons, AgriLife Extension rangeland specialist, Uvalde.
  • Herbicides for Range/Pastures – Sam Eads, Corteva AgroSciences specialist, Abilene.
  • Aquatic Weed Management in Farm Ponds – Brittany Chesser, AgriLife Extension aquatic specialist, College Station.
  • New Revisions/Recommendations for Range/Brush – Dr. Morgan Treadwell, AgriLife Extension rangeland specialist, San Angelo.
  • Pesticide Laws and Regulations – Anderson.

To preregister and for additional information, contact the AgriLife Extension office at 325-646-0386.

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AgriLife Extension offers Pond Management Program April 6 in Baird

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Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Karl Winge, 325-854-5835, karl.winge@ag.tamu.edu

BAIRD – Pond management will be the topic of a Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program set April 6 in the agency’s Callahan County office, 100 W. 4th St., Suite 201 in Baird.

Registration will start at 8:30 a.m. with the program to follow at 9 a.m.

“With spring upon us, it’s time to start setting and implementing pond management goals,” said Karl Winge, AgriLife Extension agent in Callahan County. “Our area is blessed with a number of ponds that with a bit of added management done correctly, could easily return a profit. The goal of this program is to introduce, and in some cases demonstrate, the fundamental tools and techniques needed to achieve those goals.”

Topics and speakers will include:

– Pond Location, Design and Stopping Leaking Ponds, Gary Franke, U.S. Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service soil conservation technician, Albany.

– Fish Selection and Management, Steven Bardin, Texas Pro Lake Management, fisheries biologist, Comanche.

– Aquatic Plant ID and Management, Dr. Michael Masser, AgriLife Extension fisheries specialist, College Station.

The program’s last presentation will be a hands-on electrofishing demonstration and assessment to be conducted on the Pruet Ranch, 2 miles south of Baird on U.S. Highway 83.

Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units in the general category will be offered.

Individual registration is $20, which includes lunch. For more information and to RSVP by April 2, call the AgriLife Extension office in Callahan County at 325-854-5835.

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Summertime pond management requires planning and caution

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  • Writer: Adam Russell, 903-834-6191, adam.russell@ag.tamu.edu
  • Contact: Dr. Billy Higginbotham, 903-834-6191, b-higginbotham@tamu.edu

OVERTON – Phone calls about out-of-control aquatic vegetation are a common midsummer occurrence, said Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife and fisheries specialist Dr. Billy Higginbotham.

However, he said, pond owners should proceed with caution when treating aquatic weeds in ponds where fish are important resources.

Dr. Billy Higginbotham, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife and fisheries specialist, said pond owners should be cautious during summer months when controlling or eradicating aquatic vegetation to avoid fish kills. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Robert Burns)

Dr. Billy Higginbotham, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife and fisheries specialist, said pond owners should be cautious during summer months when controlling or eradicating aquatic vegetation to avoid fish kills. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo by Robert Burns)

Higginbotham said thinning or eradicating aquatic vegetation can improve the overall environment for the pond and increase the pond’s utility for recreation, livestock watering and/or irrigation. However, in larger ponds managed for largemouth bass and appropriate forage species, some degree of aquatic vegetation coverage may provide beneficial habitat and harbor food items.

Because of potentially extensive coverage, there are dozens of native and invasive species of aquatic vegetation that cause ecological and economic impacts throughout Texas, he said. And positive identification is the key to successful control of aquatic vegetation.

“I recommend people use the AgriLife Extension website http://aquaplant.tamu.edu for assistance in identification and control recommendations,” Higginbotham said. “There is a wealth of information available to help guide landowners.”

The site assists with identification including descriptions and photos and also provides treatment advice, such as whether biologic controls are available and gives multiple herbicide options, their effectiveness and how to calculate the area and volume of ponds for applications.

Higginbotham said landowners should treat ponds in stages if maintaining fish populations is important. Treating an entire pond with herbicides during the hotter months can create an oxygen debt, due to decomposing vegetation, especially algae and other submerged vegetation, and cause fish losses.

“This is typically a summertime problem because water at higher temperatures holds less oxygen than would be possible at cooler temperatures,” he said. “If treatment is necessary during the heat of the summer, break the pond up into sections and treat only 15-20 percent of the pond at a time with one week in between treatments.”

Higginbotham said lower water levels typically found in late summer can also aid landowners who want to renovate their ponds. Reduced volume of water requires fewer treatment chemicals to remove the existing fish population, which might include undesirable species, in order to establish and support fish species that offer better angling opportunities.

“Landowners with unbalanced fish populations may also want to remove existing fish populations and start over, especially in smaller ponds less than one surface acre in size that lend themselves more for the management of single species that accept a pelleted ration, such as channel or blue catfish, hybrid stripers or hybrid sunfish,” he said.

Removal of existing species not easily managed in these smaller ponds, or that will compete directly with the desired fish species or in some cases prey directly upon stocked fingerlings, can be accomplished using rotenone.

Rotenone is a restricted use pesticide, therefore pond owners need a Texas Department of Agriculture pesticide applicator license to purchase and use, or must hire a licensed applicator, Higginbotham said.

The liquid formulation of rotenone is easier to use, Higginbotham said, because it mixes easily with water and can be applied by pump or by mixing into the prop wash of a small outboard motor. Protective gear should be worn during the application process including eyewear, gloves and long sleeves to avoid skin contact with the pesticide.

Rotenone prevents the fish from taking oxygen from the water. Fish should begin surfacing within 30 minutes of the application, depending on species. The fish, however, cannot be consumed because the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has not established residue levels for rotenone.

Landowners should wait at least two to three weeks to restock the pond after the rotenone application, he said. It is safe for livestock to consume water that has been treated with rotenone, except for swine.

For more information about Rotenone use, go to http://bit.ly/29YsdQB or contact your local AgriLife Extension agent.

Stocked fish ponds more susceptible to oxygen depletion during summer months

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  • Writer: Adam Russell, 903-834-6191, adam.russell@ag.tamu.edu
  • Contact: Billy Higginbotham, 903-834-6191, billy.higginbotham@ag.tamu.edu

OVERTON – A Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service expert said landowners should watch for oxygen depletion in stock ponds as we enter the dog days of summer.

Snapshot 1 (6-18-2016 1-38 PM)

Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist Dr. Billy Higginbotham checks the pH balance in a stocked fish pond. Higginbotham said pond owners should watch for signs of oxygen depletion during still summer days. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photograph by Adam Russell)

Dr. Billy Higginbotham, AgriLife Extension Service wildlife specialist in Overton, said landowners with stocked fish ponds should be aware of possible problems with oxygen depletion as hot, still days become more prevalent.

The summer months, between June and September, when the outside air is increasingly hot and pond water temperatures climb, are the time of year when oxygen depletions occur most for a variety of reasons, he said. Improper aquatic weed control, too many pounds of fish and the weather all contribute.

Higginbotham said typical ponds can sustain 1,000 pounds of fish per surface acre through summer months. When the environment is optimized and the pond owner stocks heavily, especially channel and blue catfish, and feeds heavily with floating fish rations, the density level can be easily met and exceeded.

Oxygen production via photosynthesis can slow or stop from several hot, still, cloudy days and fish continue to use oxygen until it falls below 3 parts per million gallons which stresses fish, Higginbotham said. Fish will begin swimming to the surface to try to obtain enough oxygen to survive at the air-water interface.

Higginbotham recommends checking the pond at daybreak when oxygen levels are at their lowest daily levels. The pond owner should act quickly if fish are surfacing for air.

Larger fish are affected by low oxygen levels more than smaller fish, he said.

“It’s almost as if they are gasping for air at the air-water interface,” Higginbotham said. “That’s a clear sign of oxygen depletion and the pond owner should act quickly to avoid a complete die-off of their fish.”

Pond owners can produce more oxygen for fish in various ways.

Backing a boat engine into the pond and circulating the water is one way to create more oxygen, Higginbotham said. Pond owners can also place a water pump in a shallow portion of the pond and spray water along the surface to circulate water along the air-water interface.

Once oxygen levels are restored, Higginbotham said pond owners should investigate the pond conditions that contributed to the depletion. He recommends thinning fish populations to reduce the pounds of fish the pond supports going into the mid-summer months when hot, still cloudy days are prevalent.

Controlling aquatic vegetation can also contribute to oxygen depletion, Higginbotham said. Oxygen is removed from water as plant tissue decomposes, which can create a scenario where a die off might occur.

Weed control efforts should be done gradually, about 15-20 percent of the vegetation at a time and with a week break between treatments, he said.

An aeration system is a good investment for landowners to avoid problems or prevent future problems, Higginbotham said.

“Watch very carefully as we enter these still, cloudy days, the dog days of summer,” Higginbotham said. “Be mindful of oxygen depletion and the possibility of losing fish populations.”