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.

Friday, April 29, 2011

Killing weeds

Larry White went on the attack Friday morning against young weeds, specifically barnyardgrass, sedges and alligator weed.


He sprayed a mixture of Permit and Londax, each at a half-ounce per acre each Permit at the rate of a half-ounce per acre, and Londax, and 1 gallon per acre of propanil.

White said he waited to spray Newpath on the Clearfield varieties 131, 151 and 161 because of a slight wind that might have blown it onto a nearby field of Jazzman II.

Click on the video below to view the spraying process:


Wednesday, April 27, 2011



Dr. Herry Utomo, molecular geneticist at the Rice Research Station, is applying the methods he uses to help rice breeders in developing varieties of spartina marsh grass. Monday, an airplane flew to the east side of Marsh Island in Vermilion Bay to drop seeds of the plants Utomo and his staff have developed. The area planted is a test being conducted as part of a federally funded 1,159-acre project being administered by the Louisiana Office of Coastal Protection and Restoration and the Natural Resources Conservation Service.

A total of 3.8 million cubic yards of dredged material was removed from East Cote Blanche Bay to repair hurricane damage on Marsh Island. Levees were built to contain the material.

Shown in the picture above with Utomo, the airplane dropped the smooth cordgrass seed in the same way that rice seed is applied by air.

However, most of the revegetation on the project will use small marsh plants that will be transplanted by hand.

Click on the videos below to see the planting operation:


Tuesday, April 26, 2011

Early morning rain Tuesday

For the first time in 2 weeks, it rained Tuesday morning at the Rice Research Station, and throughout Southwest Louisiana. The total in the rain gauge was 3.35 inches, just the third time rain was recorded at the station this month. Previous rains were on April 5 with .1 of an inch, and April 16 with .16 of an inch.


Larry White, director of the station’s foundation seed program, said the rice on the blog field emerged either Friday or Saturday and the rainfall provided enough moisture to cover the seedlings. He said the field will be sprayed with herbicide next week.

Wednesday, April 20, 2011

Fertilizer applied Tuesday

Windy conditions made application of fertilizer by airplane an interesting task Tuesday. Notice in the video below how the pilot angles the aircraft to compensate for the strong south wind. The 8-24-24 fertilizer was applied at the rate of 250 pounds per acre. During the night, the field was flooded. Young rice plants should emerge in a few days.

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

New webcam field is planted today




The webcam at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station will focus on foundation seed production of three Clearfield varieties. Each variety will be planted on approximately four acres. The three varieties are (left to right) CL151, CL131, and CL161. Each variety will be seeded at approximately 45 pounds per acre.
In the photo above, Foundation Seed Manager Larry White is planting the field.
To see the webcam, click on the link on the right side of this page.

You can also click on the movie clip below to see the planting. This is the first attempt at video on this blog.