Young rice struggling

Good news and bad news at the Zaunbrecher field after a walk through the field Wednesday.
The herbicide used for the Juncus has soundly knocked the weed down. “That’s the best job on Juncus I’ve ever seen,” said Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist. In the photo below, the dead Juncus can be seen at the base of a rice plant.




But he was concerned that the rice is looking feeble and much of it is laying on the surface of the water.
He said it’s likely that the cold temperatures during the past few nights have induced the problem.
“We need some warm weather,” Saichuk said.
Young spindly rice plants are susceptible to being knocked down by wind, he said, but the field is handicapped by low zinc levels.
In the photo, you can see the lazy rice plants.






By the weekend, temperatures are expected to climb back into the 80s.
“If that doesn’t perk it up, we’ll add another gallon of zinc per acre,” he said.
That same rate of zinc was used when the herbicide flown onto the field only a week after it was planted.


Meanwhile, back at the Rice Research Station, Larry White has pumped water onto the 21.25-acre seed production field to flush it. The field was fertilized Tuesday by air with 8-24-24 at the rate of 250 pounds an acre on Monday. The red chunks on the ground shown in the photo below are particles of fertilizer before the field was flushed.