Rice Update by Nathan Beuhring, Extension Rice Specialist
June 6, 2008 - USDA, at the first of week, reported Mississippi was 95% planted and 90% emerged. Crop condition as reported by USDA is 3% Poor, 19% Fair, 68% Good, and 10% Excellent. Soil moisture conditions have gone from being very wet to very dry within one week. With an extreme south wind and 90º F + temperatures, moisture has been quickly depleted from the soil. As a result, flushing has begun on the later planted rice. read more...
Field Notes by Johnny Saichuk, Louisiana State University
June 9, 2008 - Last week we were called to a field to diagnose and recommend a course of action to control a grass. It was the first time I have seen a rice field completely infested with the grass shown in these photographs. The massive rhizomes in the photo at right are very diagnostic. The panicles shown in the lower right hand photo confirm its identity. The individual plant shown below is so general in appearance as to be confused with several species. The grass is Torpedograss. It can take on many forms. I have seen it in rice on occasion, but only in scattered areas where it can be as tall as rice. It is a perennial problem in turf even on golf greens mowed to extremely short heights. We do not have a current recommendation for this pest because we have not been able to evaluate it. We’ll tell you if what we tried works. read more...
Arkansas Rice Dr. Chuck Wilson, Dr. Bob Scott, and Dr. Rick Cartwright
May 14, 2008 - Because of the extensive rain and flooding, rice planting is a couple of weeks behind normal. As of May 12, farmers had planted an estimated 68% of the rice acreage. This compares to 55% last week but we had planted 86% by this time in 2007, and 5-year average of 90%. An estimated 42% of the crop has emerged. This compares to 21% last week, 69% in 2007, and 5-year average of 74%. Read more...
Rice Research Station News, Louisiana State University May 1, 2008 - Salvage Treatments and Controlling Late Emerging Weeds in Rice - Salvage treatments are like death and taxes; they occur on a regular basis. No one should start the growing season planning for a late-season, or salvage treatment. It is much easier to control weeds early in the growing season when they are small and actively growing. But on many occasions, late-season applications cannot be avoided. Following is some information to help guide producers through these late-season applications. read more...
Mississippi Crop Situation
May 22, 2008 - This newsletter provides the most current information for rice in Mississippi.