Greetings from Louisiana rice country! This year, the blog will concentrate research conducted at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station, in addition to showing the progress of a 6-acre field of rice planted March 19 to produce foundation seed. We encourage your comments and thoughts to help improve this online tool. If you would like a photograph of a particular piece of equipment or a better explanation of a process, let us know.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Panicle differentiation

Rice plants in the blog field have started to reach panicle differentiation, according to Dr. Richard Dunand, LSU AgCenter plant physiologist.

This morning, Dr. Dunand dissected a plant and found that the panicle is just beginning to be visible at about an 1/8 of an inch, as shown in the picture below. The panicle is the small brushy structure on the end of the dissected stem.

It is from the panicle that small flowers, called florets, will develop and eventually become grains of rice as the reproductive phase of growth progresses.

More rain appears possible today. The last moisture recorded at the Rice Research Station was on Tuesday, with 1.07 inches.
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