Mississippi News
Mississippi Rice Update || Rice Done R.I.T.E. || News Releases || Crop Situation || Agronomy Notes
Mississippi Rice Update:
by Nathan Beuhring, Extension Rice Specialist
July 10, 2008 - Crop condition as reported by USDA is 2% Poor, 14% Fair, 69% Good, and 15% Excellent. Rice will begin to head, on the rice planted earliest, next week. There is also some rice that has not been flooded, yet. Overall, this year’s crop looks as good as usual this time of year. The biggest difference from last year is the lateness of the crop, which could possibly result in a lower state average yield over previous years. This will greatly depend on weather conditions late this summer and early fall. read more...
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...
If you want to be added to my direct emailing list, email me at nathanb@ext.msstate.edu. Also, feel free to contact me at 662-822-7359.
RICE DONE "R.I.T.E."
Video runs 5:43 - RealOne 56K or RealOne 256K
R.I.T.E. stands for "Rice Improvement Through Technology and Education." It's funded by growers through their Mississippi Rice Promotion Board and delivered by Mississippi State University. For two years, MSU personnel work with growers to maximize yields while reducing crop input costs. Reporter: Leighton Spann.
News Releases
Rice headlines inspire Mississippi growers - May 2, 2008 Mississippi growers are looking forward to the 2008 rice crop because of news of a potential world rice shortage.
Gauges can reduce water use in rice production
Dry summers are lowering Delta groundwater supplies
Research reveals best weed control in rice
Mississippi Crop Situation
May 22, 2008 - Rice futures are currently trading $3.00-$4.00 per cwt off their contract highs. Much of the panic in the rice market caused by rice hoarding outside the U.S. and the Burma cyclone has subsided. However, rice supply and demand fundamentals remain strong. Even a slight increase in 2008 U. S. acres will not have a dramatic effect on prices. Short term, the market will likely trade steady to only slightly lower. Longer term, the market trend appears to be steady to possibly slightly higher depending on the actual amount of planted acres.
Agronomy Notes
July, 2008. Rice over the past month has matured quite rapidly. As a whole, our rice crop would rate fair to excellent. This year’s rice crop has a wide range of growth stages. Rice has recently emerged in some areas and there some rice that is approaching the boot stage. I would estimate 25% of the acres were planted before April 15th, 50% was planted between April 15th and May 15th, and 25% was planted after May 15th. This is drastically different from last year where 75% of the rice acres were planted before April 15th. As a whole, the crop looks good; however, the lateness in the crop is of concern.
During the last week of June, sheath blight pressure has increased. Favorable conditions for sheath blight are highs in the 85 to 90 F range with high humidity throughout the day. Under humid conditions, it can take until after mid-day to get the rice plants dry from dew. This disease thrives under high moisture conditions and does not take much time to move all the way up the plant. Under low humidity conditions, sheath blight can be seen underneath the canopy, but it will not move up the plant as fast due to the top portion of the canopy drying off quickly in the morning. If you have not sprayed a fungicide on your rice crop, I would monitor your crop closely to determine if a fungicide application will be necessary.
Over the past month I have been seeing rice stinkbugs scattered across the field in non-headed rice. I am not sure what this means for rice stinkbug pressure this year. Corn and grain sorghum can serve as a host for the rice stinkbug. With a substantial amount of these two crops this year, we could see high rice stinkbug numbers in the rice. As the rice begins to head, I would monitor it closely for stinkbugs, especially on early headed rice.
When scouting for rice stinkbugs, I would sample early in the morning (before 10:00 am) or late in the evening (after 5:00 pm). Rice stinkbugs move lower in the canopy during the hot part of the day, which would lower your sample numbers. Our threshold is 5 rice stinkbugs per 10 sweeps for the first two weeks of heading and 10 rice stinkbugs per 10 sweeps for the second two weeks of heading. Four pyrethroid insecticides are currently labeled and recommended for rice stinkbug control: Karate Z (1 gallon/50 to 80 Acres), Mustang Max (1 gallon/32 to 48 Acres), Prolex (1 gallon/62 to 100 Acres), and Proaxis (1 gallon/25 to 40 Acres).
The Annual Delta Research and Extension Center Field Day will be on July 17th. Registration will begin at 7:30 AM at the Charlie Capps Center. The field day will conclude at noon with lunch provided.
Mississippi Farm Bureau is hosting its Summer Rice Policy Meeting in Cleveland on Friday, July 18th at the Bolivar County Extension Auditorium Building beginning at 10:00 AM and concluding around noon. Lunch is provided, and the meeting is open to all rice growers in the state.