• Texas is the third largest producer in the U.S., harvesting 3.4 million acres annually.
• The cash value to farmers is $288 million, generating $973 million for the economy.
• Texas’ hard red winter wheat land is commonly fallowed or rotated with other crops.

• 74% of irrigated wheat is scouted and sprayed. Dryland production receives fewer inputs and is less economical to spray for insects.
• Greenbugs and Russian wheat aphid are the primary pests. Other pests include mites, fall armyworms, and cutworms.
• Chlorpyrifos (Lorsban), dimethoate (Cygon ) and methyl parathion are three OP insecticides and targeted by FQPA that, if withdrawn, could cause yield losses of 8 to 10%. Lorsban is primarily used for greenbug control.

• Wheat is bred with genetic resistance to most fungal diseases. Disease resistant varieties are the most effective means of disease control.
• Principle diseases are rusts, powdery mildew, septoria leaf blotch, and viruses in some areas.
• Fungicides are available to protect against leaf rust and stem rust but are not cost-effective in most dryland fields.
• Propiconazole (Tilt) is used on 2% of the acreage, mostly for leaf rust.

• Crop rotations, fallow and soil tillage are widely practiced as a form of integrated weed management.
• Common weed problems include field bindweed, and other perennial weeds, such as annual grasses, such as ryegrass and rescue grass, and winter annual broadleaf weeds, such as mustards.
• 25% of acreage is treated with herbicides. 2,4-D is the most common, followed by metsulfuron (Ally), dicamba (Banvel) and chlorsulfuron (Glean). All of these herbicides are essential for economic wheat production.

• Irrigated and dryland wheat will continue as a major crop in Texas for food use and winter pasture.
• Breeding and non-chemical practices will continue but pesticides are essential to sustain production.
• Conservation tillage is widely practiced but perennial weeds are difficult to suppress.
• For latest information regarding these issues and status of risk assessments visit ipmwww.ncsu.edu/opmppiap and www.epa.gov/pesticides.

Educational programs conducted by Texas A&M AgriLife, Texas A&M University, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, and the Texas AgriLife Extension Service serve people of all ages regardless of socioeconomic level race, color, sex, religion, handicap or national origin.