Rice: Crowley Rice Station Field Day Highlights

Dr. Steve Linscombe - rice breeder and LSU regional director for southwestern Louisiana - said at Thursday's field day that more Clearfield varieties of rice are in development. Another LSU AgCenter rice breeder at the station, Dr. Xueyan Sha, said a medium-grain variety should be available for release soon, and work continues on an aromatic long-grain variety.

In other reports during the field day:

LSU AgCenter soybean specialist Dr. David Lanclos said this year’s bean crop needs rain soon. Some farmers have put off planting because they’ve been waiting on rainfall, he said, adding, "I know of three farmers planting today." But the potential for a good crop still exists, according to Lanclos, because the lack of rainfall in the spring forced young plants to grow deep roots, and that could mean a good yield. "When beans struggle for water early season, they usually do well late season," he said.

Dr. Don Groth, an LSU AgCenter plant pathologist at the Rice Station, said seed treatments are being studied as a way of decreasing diseases on rice. He said disease pressure is light this year because of dry conditions.

LSU AgCenter plant pathologist Dr. Chuck Rush advised rice farmers to be aware of consistently hot weather that could result in an epidemic of bacterial panicle blight. Outbreaks occurred in 1995, 1998 and 2000, he said, and some farmers had yield losses of 40 percent. He said a chemical can be used to control it, but it is not available in the United States.

Dr. Mo Way, an entomologist from Texas A&M who does cooperative work with scientists at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Station, said the use of acephate insecticides for rice stink bugs was rejected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for three reasons. Way said the EPA turned down the application because of opposition to another organophosphate, dietary residue data and an economic analysis that determined a savings of $46 an acre was insufficient to justify approval. But he said continued efforts could be successful in getting the chemical "labeled" for such uses. Way also told farmers the Mexican rice borer is in Texas only one county away from the Louisiana-Texas line.

LSU AgCenter rice physiologist Dr. Richard Dunand at the Rice Station gave an overview of his work on three different plant growth regulators. He said one product, Prestige, has shown some yield increase.

Dr. Eric Webster, an LSU AgCenter weed scientist, said early herbicide application is important to control weeds in rice. Yield losses can occur within the first three to four weeks of a crop if weed pressure is not controlled, he said.