LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station

All done

2011-08-18T14:48:00.000-06:00

The final of 3 fields of rice shown on the webcam was cut Wednesday, with a yield of 37 barrels per acre for the CL161 variety. Harvest was completed Friday on the first field, the CL 131 variety, and the yield was approximately 43 barrels per acre. The second field, CL151, was cut Monday and it yielded around 47 barrels. Shown in the video above is the harvest Friday at the first field.

First rice harvested at the station

2011-07-08T13:01:00.000-06:00

Yesterday, the first rice was cut for 2011 on the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station. But harvesting was done by hand, not by a combine, because this is rice grown in transplanted rows for the breeding projects of Drs. Xueyan Sha and Steve Linscombe, and they have to be able to tag each bundle of rice so it can be identified after it is threshed and dried.

As you can see from the video below, this is hot and dirty work and very little breeze was noticeable even in the middle of the day.

These plants are the F1 generation from crosses made for variety improvement last summer. The seed from those crosses was planted in the greenhouse in mid- February. As soon as it was warm enough, the resulting plants were transplanted by hand into this field. These bundles will be threshed and the resulting seed will be dried. Much of this seed will be loaded into planting cells and shipped to the winter nursery facility near Lajas, Puerto Rico, where it will be planted in late July/early August. The winter nursery allows these breeding projects to conduct varietal improvement research year-around.

In the meantime, the field that is the focus of the webcam is expected to be harvested in a little more than a month. Larry White, station foundation seed manager, said the rice plants are just starting to develop heads where the rice panicles are being formed.

Rice Research Station Field Day prep work

2011-06-29T15:21:00.000-06:00

If you have been to the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station in the past few days, you would have seen a flurry of activity for the upcoming annual Field Day held at the station. Grass is being mowed, the road is being graded, signs have been erected and LSU AgCenter county agents and specialists were getting briefed Wednesday, the day before the event, on what would be presented. Later, Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialists, conducted an education session for county agents in the rice growing parishes.

A surprise will be evident to LSU fans during the field tours, which start at 7:15 a.m. The last trailer for the tour leaves at 9:15 a.m., and a program will begin at 10:30 a.m. The field day ends with a lunch.

Below, the county agents and other LSU AgCenter personnel listen to remarks of Dr. Natalie Hummel, LSU AgCenter entomologist during Wednesday's preparation.

Below, Dr. Don Groth, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist, tells county agents what comments he will make at the field day. You can see the county agents' reflections in his sunglasses.

Permanent flood

2011-05-18T15:08:00.000-06:00

The well was started Wednesday for the permanent flood on the blog field. If everything goes as planned, the water won’t be released until 2 weeks before harvest, expected in mid-August.

Larry White, foundation seed manager at the Rice Research Station, applied a herbicide combination Tuesday of RiceBeaux and Permit. Wednesday morning, an airplane flew 200 pounds of urea fertilizer per acre just before the valve was opened for the water, shown in the video below.

Killing weeds

2011-04-29T09:19:00.000-06:00

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:

2011-04-27T15:39:00.001-06:00

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:

Early morning rain Tuesday

2011-04-26T12:52:00.000-06:00

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.

Fertilizer applied Tuesday

2011-04-20T10:04:00.000-06:00

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.

New webcam field is planted today

2011-04-12T15:06:00.001-06:00

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.

Blog field harvested

2010-09-01T07:49:00.001-06:00

The blog field was harvested Thursday (Aug. 26) with a yield of 47.2 barrels per acre (170 bushels or 76.4 hundredweight), according to Larry White, director of the LSU AgCenter. The field of medium-grain rice was cut at 17 percent moisture.

Next year this same field will be fallow.

Fertilizer applied again

2010-06-03T12:44:00.000-06:00

The blog field was fertilized this morning with urea (46 percent nitrogen) at the rate of 100 pounds per acre. Plants are at the green ring (panicle initiation) stage of development. This growth stage signals a shift from vegetative growth to the initiation of reproductive growth. At this stage, the panicle where the grain will later be formed begins to develop at the base of the stem.

Fertilizer applied, now time for permanent flood

2010-05-11T13:39:00.000-06:00

Nitrogen fertilizer was applied to the field Tuesday afternoon by airplane at the rate of 92 pounds per acre. Now Larry White, director of the foundation seed program at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station, will soon be turning on the valve to release water for the permanent flood.

What little moisture the field has received has been from pumping. The last rainfall at the station was on May 3 with .03 of an inch. The entire month of April brought only a half-inch of rain, and so far the rainfall total for 2010 is only 9.7 inches compared to 23.77 inches last year. Below you can see the dried earth and the young rice plants.

Pumping time

2010-04-29T07:54:00.001-06:00

The weather won’t cooperate with rainfall, so Larry White, manager of the Rice Research Station’s foundation seed program, turned on the water Wednesday to flush the field with just enough water to saturate the soil. Rain was predicted for last weekend, but most areas received little moisture. More rain if forecasted for this weekend.

Before flushing, White sprayed Permit and Propanil to control weeds.

Below, you can see the water as it spreads across the field.

Seedlings are up

2010-04-20T15:19:00.000-06:00

Rice seedlings in the blog field have emerged above the ground.

Fertilizer, 8-24-24, was applied by airplane Monday at the rate of 250 pounds per acre. You can see the red chunks of fertilizer in the photo below.

Larry White, director of the Rice Research Station Foundation Seed Program, said if the crop doesn’t get rain before the weekend, he’ll probably flush the field.

Where's the rain when it's needed?

2010-04-07T17:00:00.001-06:00

Farmers across the area have had their fingers crossed that each passing front would bring enough rain to give rice seedlings moisture, so pumps wouldn't have to be used to flush fields. It's no different at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station. Larry White, director of the station's foundation seed program, decided to go ahead and pump water onto the blog field at the rate of 600 gallons per minute. Once the field has been covered with a minimal amount of water, the pumps will be shut off.

2010-04-06T15:41:00.000-06:00

In this view to the left, Tim Miller drives a tractor pulling a levee plow in the blog field Tuesday at the LSU Rice Research Station. Building up the levees requires several passes with the equipment. Larry White, director of the station's foundation seed program, said planting a flat field is easier because the tractor and seed drill don't have to negotiate the levees.

In the photo below, you can see how the plow pulls the soil up into a berm.

White expects to flush the field, probably tomorrow, to provide adequate moisture to seedlings which are germinated. Forecasts call for rain maybe Thursday, but rain was predicted for the previous weekend but none fell at the station.

2010 blog field has been planted

2010-03-30T09:15:00.002-06:00

This year's LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station web log begins with the planting yesterday (March 29) of a 9.5-acre field near the station's rice bins. It's the same field featured in 2006, this blog's first year.
The field was planted with the medium-grain variety Jupiter, developed by the LSU AgCenter and released in 2005.
The seeding rate was 26 pounds per acre and the seed was treated with Dermacor for rice water weevil control, gibberillic acide to promote early growth and dithane fungicide.
Research associated Shane Theunissen is driving the tractor, shown above, pulling the seed drill. Larry White, manager of the foundation seed program at the station, said the seed is being planted at a depth of about three-quarters of an ince.
If all goes well, harvest should take place in early August. You can watch the crop's progress by using the link on the right side of this screen that directs you to a web camera installed near the field.
In the picture below, Davis Dautreuil, LSU AgCenter technology ace, is shown preparing the webcam.

Romaine field is harvested

2009-08-17T13:15:00.001-06:00

Because of rain, two days of harvesting were required for Durel Romaine’s 40-acre field near Kaplan. He started Friday, but rain late in the afternoon forced him to stop with just a few acres remaining. Saturday provided enough dry weather to finish.
According to Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, Romaine’s field of the CL151 variety yielded 56.5 barrels, which is 91.5 hundredweight or 203.4 bushels. Drying the rice to 12 percent moisture will decrease the total to 53.8 barrels, 87 cwt. or 193.5 bushels.
To kick off his second crop, Romaine is flooding the field today and having urea applied at the rate of 200 pounds per acre.

Jazzman Field Harvested

2009-08-11T10:50:00.003-06:00

The field of Jazzman at the Rice Research Station was harvested yesterday afternoon.

Larry White, manager of the station's foundation seed program, said the yield came out to 50.2 barrels per acre. That also works out to 180.7 bushels per acre, or 8,132 pounds.

It took about 4 hours for the small combine to cut the 6 acres, and it was completed as storm clouds moved over the area. Bill Leonards, farm manager at the station, is at the helm of the combine in the photo above.

The other field featured in this blog on the farm of Durel Romaine is expected to be harvested Wednesday.

Time to drain the fields

2009-07-22T09:53:00.001-06:00

Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, told farmer Durel Romaine that it’s time to turn the water loose on the blog field in preparation for harvest.
“With the weather pattern you’ve got right now, you definitely need to drain,” he said.
Rainfall is possible for several days now, so that could add to the time needed to get the water off the field.
Saichuk is holding a panicle in the picture above. He said the rice on the panicles are showing two-thirds to three-fourths maturity, so that tells him harvest is only 2-3 weeks away.
He will make a return visit to the field in 2 weeks to gauge the amount of grain moisture, indicating when harvest could be done.
In the meantime, Romaine said a nearby field will be ready in 2-3 days to harvest, but the weather could interfere.
Back at the Rice Research Station, the field of Jazzman will be drained Friday. Larry White, the station’s foundation seed manager, said draining will only require removal of one pipe. He expects harvest could be 3 weeks away.
“It looks good,” White said. “I don’t see much disease.”

Rice doing well after heavy rain

2009-07-10T12:13:00.008-06:00

Rainfall varied across south Louisiana this week. Some areas received several inches, while some got less than an inch.
The rain gauge at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station showed 4.46 inches from Tuesday until Thursday, with most of that on Tuesday.
The field of Jazzman rice is growing well. With little wind this morning, the pleasant aroma of the variety was quite strong.

In the picture to the left, a frog clings to a leaf on a rice plant.

Some of the rice plants in the field, such as the one photographed on the left, have just finished flowering.

Larry White, the station’s foundation seed director, said harvest could occur by mid-August.
Durel Romaine said his field near Kaplan, also featured in the blog, got less than an inch, which means his pumping cost will be reduced by that amount.
Romaine said the water in canals that he uses for irrigation have 50 to 60 grains of salt but the runoff from the rain didn’t appear to fill ditches that feed the canal.
Romaine said he’s not worried about salt in the water at this point because at most he is 3 weeks away from harvest.
Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said Romaine is probably 10 days to 2 weeks from draining the field in preparation for harvest.

Fungicide applied on Durel Romaine's field

2009-06-26T13:56:00.001-06:00

Durel Romaine’s field featured in this blog was sprayed Thursday with Stratego fungicide upon the recommendation of Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist.

Saichuk said this week’s visit to the field turned up more disease than the previous week, including blast, sheath blight and cercospera.

He said the heads were just starting to emerge from the boot. Although fungicide was optional, Saichuk said, “this field is too good not to protect it.”

Fungicide application

2009-06-22T20:11:00.003-06:00

The blog field at the Rice Research Station received a preventive dose of fungicide this morning. The photo above, taken by Dr. Steve Linscombe, shows the application by airplane.
Dr. Don Groth, LSU AgCenter pathologist, said Stratego was applied to prevent problems with blast, cercospera and sheath blight.“Stratego is a good broad spectrum fungicide,” Groth said. Disease is present at the water line of the rice plants, he said, but it is being suppressed by hot, dry weather. If frequent rains began, he said, a disease outbreak would be likely and rice plants in the heading stage are more susceptible to disease.
The rice plant heads are just starting to emerg. Groth said it’s possible that the field could do without fungicide, but Groth said the material was used to insure that the foundation seed produced in this field is of the highest quality possible.

Disease pressure light so far

2009-06-17T15:36:00.002-06:00

Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, shown in the photo above, was pleased Wednesday morning to find that blast disease was not widespread in Durel Romaine’s verification field. Saichuk found blast in the field last week but he said the dry weather has probably suppressed the disease’s increase.
The photo of Saichuk shows him with a tool made of PVC pipe that can be used to push rice plants aside to check for disease on the lower portions of the plants. He found a few instances of blast Wednesday, such as the one photographed below.

“We know disease is here in this field and all we’re doing is watching the progression to time the fungicide application,” he said.
He plans to recommend the fungicide Gem, if it’s available or Quadris in the alternative.
Saichuk said most of the rice plants have half-inch panicles.
Another field of CL151, near Romaine’s, is heavily infested with sheath blight, he said. Saichuk said that disease problem has probably been worsened by the dense plant population. In that case, he said, a higher percentage of emergence is not desirable because the disease prefers moist, damp environments that are more hospitable for fungal diseases.
Meanwhile, the blog field at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station continues to progress well with panicles almost 3 inches long.
Larry White, director of the station’s foundation seed program, said disease pressure is light but the fungicide Stratego will probably be applied early next week.
White said he is pumping water onto the field every 3 or 4 days because of the dry weather. No rain has been recorded at the station since May 25.

2009-05-27T14:39:00.002-06:00

The field of Jazzman at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station is growing quickly. Larry White, director of the station’s Foundation Seed program, said a fertilizer application will be made next week, followed a week or so later by fungicide.
Early in the morning the aroma of the Jazzman is quite prominent, similar to Thai Jasmine rice being cooked.
Shown above is a damselfly that has landed on a leaf of the rice plant.

Meanwhile, Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, is pleased with the progress of the other blog field, planted in Clearfield 151, at Romaine Durel’s farm near Kaplan. He said fertilizer will be applied as soon as possible.

Warmer weather boosts rice crop growth

2009-05-14T09:55:00.002-06:00

Saturday will mark 2 weeks that Durel Romaine’s 40-acre field has been under a permanent flood. Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said the rice is looking good. He said the weeds appear to be under control, and he is satisfied that the field will not have a rice water weevil problem.
Adult weevils were found everywhere in the field last week, but Saichuk said the use of Dermacor seed treatment will take care of the larvae and prevent them from eating the rice plant roots.
He said the crop is probably 2.5 weeks from green ring. For an explanation of this critical stage of a rice plant’s growth, go here:

http://lsuagcenterrice.blogspot.com/search?updated-max=2007-05-31T09%3A05%3A00-06%3A00&max-results=7

The blog field at the Rice Research Station is doing well, according to Larry White, director of the station’s Foundation Seed program. He said the crop is greening up and growing with warm temperatures. The station received a quarter inch of rain Tuesday afternoon.

Time for the permanent flood

2009-05-08T07:44:00.004-06:00

Flooding the field at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station

The permanent flood has been pumped onto Durel Romaine’s field featured in this blog, and the pump was turned on Thursday afternoon for the field at the Rice Research Station.
Urea fertilizer at the rate of 200 pounds per acre was applied on the field at the station Thursday morning.
Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said Romaine’s field looks good, but it has a heavy infestation of adult rice water weevils. Fortunately, the seed was treated with Dermacor which will provide protection against root pruning by the weevil larvae.
A series of tests on rice water weevil control is being done by Dr. Natalie Hummel, LSU AgCenter entomologist, and she recently had a tour of the test plots throughout the rice growing area of Louisiana.

Durel Romaine's field almost ready for flood

2009-04-30T09:10:00.005-06:00

Farmer Durel Romaine, at left, and Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, walk the blog field Wednesday.

Durel Romaine is almost ready to turn loose the permanent flood on his 40-acre field featured in this blog.
On Wednesday, Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, and his assistant Kim Landry both came to that conclusion after walking the field.
“It looks excellent,” Saichuk concluded.
Most of the young rice plants have turned a rich green color after bouncing back from the application of Command herbicide.
He was impressed that herbicides had done their job well, but the field shows a few lingering weeds such as sedges, dayflower and alligatorweed. Saichuk was most concerned about the sedges. “They’re bad because they will hold back the rice.”
He recommended spraying the field of CL151 with Newpath and Permit herbicides, applying urea fertilizer, then flooding. “You want to spray one day and fertilize the next day.”
Saichuk said the flood should be on the field before next Wednesday’s visit.

Field tour at station blog field

2009-04-28T15:00:00.002-06:00

Dr. Natalie Hummel, LSU AgCenter entomologist, discussed her ongoing project involving the seed treatment Dermacor to protect rice plants against the No. 1 insect pest in Louisiana: the rice water weevil.
In a tour Tuesday morning, Hummel showed county agents and crop consultants the tests being done on the blog field at the Rice Research Station, and several locations on farms in southwest and north Louisiana.
Dr. Dustin Harrell, LSU AgCenter agronomist, is conducting a test at the station to determine the effectiveness of 1.75 fluid ounces of Dermacor per acre at different seeding rates.
Larry White, director of the Rice Research Station foundation seed program, pumped water onto the blog field Monday night. As luck would have it, rain moved through the area before dawn Tuesday, dropping more than an inch of rain. Showers are predicted off-an-on until the weekend.
White said he will have the field sprayed for weeds next week, and he will turn on the water for the blog field’s permanent flood.

Flying fertilizer

2009-04-27T12:51:00.002-06:00

Here’s a photo of Thursday morning’s aerial application of fertilizer on the blog field. The rice should really start to grow now, with a boost from the fertilizer and warm temperatures this weekend.
Larry White, Rice Research Station foundation seed director, said the field will probably get an application of herbicide, followed by flooding next week.
Harvest should occur in late July or early August.

Herbicide doing its job

2009-04-22T14:18:00.002-06:00

Many of the rice plants in Farmer Romaine Durel’s 40-acre rice crop have white splotches, shown above. Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said that tells him the herbicide Command was applied at the correct rate 12 ounces per acre. He said the rice will grow out of that slight injury, and the herbicide is having its effects on the primary weeds, sedge and dayflower. The crop of Clearfield 151 is now ready for an application of Newpath, and Durel hopes to have that sprayed no later than the weekend.
Meanwhile, Durel is getting ready to plant an additional 200 acres, also CL151 on a field that he had planned to leave fallow this year. He said he decided to plant more rice after last weekend’s rain, more than 5 inches at his farm near Kaplan. He said the rain resupplied the irrigation canals with abundant water that has flushed away salt. Durel and many other farmers in his area were reluctant to plant fields irrigated by surface water because of saltwater remaining in the canals left from Hurricane Ike.
Despite the heavy rain, it was possible to walk on the field without getting muddy feet. Saichuk said quick drainage is another advantage of no-till farming.
The Rice Research Station recorded the weekend rainfall at 7.5 inches. Most of that has drained, and the crop in the blog field is showing some growth.
Larry White, Rice Research Station foundation seed director, said fertilizer, 250 pounds per acre of 8-24-24, will be applied by airplane Thursday morning.

Blog fields doing well

2009-04-16T08:20:00.001-06:00

The 6-acre field at the Rice Research Station just needs warm weather to boost its growth, according to Larry White, director of the station’s foundation seed program. In the above photo, it shows some growth, but White said warm temperatures are needed.
Night temperatures have been hovering in the 50s. The weekend is predicted to bring warmer temperatures and rain, followed by cooler temperatures.
Meanwhile at the Durel Romaine farm, the 40-acre field of rice has yet to emerge. Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said the rice is only a couple of days from emergence, however.
Romaine is currently draining the field after flushing it. He said Wednesday afternoon he had started planting the last field of 170 acres, and that would complete his planting for the year. He had hoped to plant almost 1,000 acres but figures he will end up with roughly 550. Saltwater from Hurricane Ike was the biggest reason for cutting back.
Romaine said he welcomes the rain this weekend because it would flush the fields he is currently drill seeding.

Jazzman is up!

2009-04-09T13:13:00.005-06:00

The flush has done its job, and rows of drilled Jazzman rice seed are obvious. Young rice plants poked through the ground since Larry White flushed the field with a minimal flood. He expects harvest in late July or early August. In the background of the picture above is the lab of Dr. Don Groth, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist.
The picture below shows moisture that accumulated on the plants overnight. While the layman would be likely to assume this is dew, Dr. Steve Linscombe, LSU AgCenter rice breeder, said this is a guttation, moisture that is forced out of a plant as the result of root pressure.

Romaine plants his field while field of Jazzman gets flooded

2009-04-07T11:56:00.005-06:00

This morning, Durel Romaine started planting a 40-acre field at his farm near Kaplan, drill-seeding the variety CL151 at the rate of 60 pounds per acre. He had to make some adjustments on the drill for the damp soil.

Notice in the photo above how straight the drill is running as it is guided by an automatic steering system controlled by GPS.

Upon the suggestion of Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, Romaine will follow up with an application of Command and Roundup tomorrow to control grasses, then flush the field before applying Newpath herbicide.
This field is in Saichuk’s verification program, and it will be followed on this blog.

Saichuk said the cold weather that blew through Louisiana Sunday night could injure young rice plants, especially young seedlings that have emerged from the ground. But he said the plants are likely to survive the cold, just as the crop did 2 years ago when a sudden cold wave came through Louisiana.

Meanwhile at the Rice Research Station, Larry White flushed the blog field of Jazzman rice to get the seedlings to break through a hard layer of crust that formed on the surface of the soil. Dr. Steve Linscombe, station director, said the field was getting dry and that was making it difficult for the seedlings to get through the soil.
A chance of rain has been predicted for late in the week, but Linscombe said it was prudent to wet the field now, rather than waiting on rainfall.

More rain, good and not so good

2009-04-03T11:25:00.002-06:00

Weather seldom pleases everyone, and that was true Thursday.
Larry White, director of the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station foundation seed program, wanted rain Thursday for the blog field and he got it. A line of thunderstorms blew through the area around noon, dumping .6 of an inch (1.5 centimeters) of rain in just a few minutes.
“Now we just need it to warm up,” White said.
Sunday will be warm, but after then, low temperatures are expected to be in the 40s until rain returns Thursday.
In the meantime, in Vermilion Parish, farmer Durel Romaine of Kaplan was hoping not to get any rain so he could plant a 40-acre field that will be featured in the blog. The field is in the LSU AgCenter rice verification program, directed by Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist.
Romaine, shown here in the field, had planned on drill-seeding the field Monday but now the field is too wet and he expects it will be the end of next week before he can get into the field.
He doesn’t want to change plans and water seed because he is concerned that the thick layer of vegetation will prevent the seed from anchoring roots into the soil.
The clouds that brought Thursday’s rain had a silver lining for Romaine, however. The additional moisture will mean even more freshwater in the canals that he uses for irrigation. The salt level in the canals had become excessive to be used for rice, but the recent rainfall has lowered the concentration of salt.
He took samples of water Wednesday in a canal that showed acceptable levels of salt for rice, but he said a neighbor took samples Thursday that showed a higher level.

Rainfall at the Station

2009-03-26T09:15:00.000-06:00

Storms blasted through Louisiana Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. A total of 1.77 inches (4.5 centimeters) was recorded Thursday morning for the previous 24 hours at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station, according to station director Dr. Steve Linscombe.
He said rain will help germination of the drill-seeded rice in the blog field. The soil already held sufficient moisture for the seed to begin germination, but he said the rain will mean the field will not have to be flushed with a flood.
The rains will help farmers who have already drill-seeded their fields, but those hoping to plant this week will have to wait a few days for fields to dry. Of course, the weather won’t interfere with water-seeding by airplane, and the rains could help reduce pumping costs.

Planting underway for 2009

2009-03-24T13:38:00.001-06:00

This is the year’s first installment of the LSU AgCenter rice web log that will follow the growing season from planting to harvest.
In the above photo, Larry White uses a drill seed to plant a 6-acre field at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station on Monday, March 23. He used the new variety, Jazzman, at the rate of 37 pounds per acre. The seed was treated with Dermacor, for protection against rice water weevils; gibberillic acid, to promote growth; and Dithane, a fungicide for seedlings.
Jazzman is an aromatic variety released by the LSU AgCenter late last year after its development by Dr. Xueyan Sha, LSU AgCenter rice breeder. More than a decade of work went into the variety, aimed at competing with Jasmine rice imported into the U.S. from Thailand.
Visible in the background is traffic on Interstate 10.

Station Blog Field Harvested

2008-08-08T14:13:00.003-06:00

The field of Catahoula rice was harvested Thursday (Aug. 7), and the yield was 43.9 barrels (or 71.1 hundredweight) per acre, according to Larry White, director of the Rice Research Station Foundation Seed Program. The rice was cut at 18.8 percent moisture, and it will take about a week to dry the crop down to 12 percent. Next step is to clean the crop at the Rice Research Station facility to be sold as foundation seed.

Zaunbrecher Field Harvested

2008-08-01T14:54:00.009-06:00

The final figures are in for the harvest at Blue Zaunbrecher’s field Wednesday (July 30).
According to Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, the 37-acre field yielded 7,601 pounds per acre. That works out to 46.9 barrels, or 169 bushels, or 76.01 hundredweight.
If the dry-down factor is considered for 12 percent moisture, the net yield is 7,282 pounds per acre, 45 barrels, 161.8 bushels or 72.82 cwt.
Zaunbrecher, shown in the combine pictured above, said the field’s wet conditions resulted in heavy rutting in some areas, but he is flooding the field for a possible second crop.
In the photo below, Zaunbrecher’s nephew, Bryce Zaunbrecher, levels out the rice being loaded onto a truck.

Meanwhile, harvest is expected sometime around Aug. 6 for the blog field at the Rice Research Station. Larry White, director of the rice station’s foundation seed program, said field received an inch of rain Thursday.

Field Work at Rice Station

2008-06-30T11:19:00.006-06:00

A team of roguers walked seed production fields Monday at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station to remove plants called off-types that have undesired characteristics, such as excessive height, along with any red rice plants. However, red rice plants are very rarely found on the Rice Research Station. The fields are rogued to further ensure a variety’s purity.
Larry White, manager of the station’s seed production program, worked with the roguers and he is at far left in the picture.

Visitors to Wednesday’s Rice Station Field Day can get a look at the blog field during the tours Researchers will discuss their work during the hour-long field tours that start at 7:30 a.m. The final tour will start at 9:15 a.m.

The station received 1.03 inches of rain during the weekend.

Blog fields doing well

2008-06-26T08:08:00.004-06:00

Another application of insecticide may be needed for Blue Zaunbrecher’s field to combat stinkbugs. Malathion was applied last week but a check of the field Wednesday (June 25) showed fairly high numbers of the insects.
LSU AgCenter County Agent Eddie Eskew found 40 stinkbugs in 120 sweeps with a net, and Kim Landry of the LSU AgCenter rice verification program counted 26 in 100 sweeps and Zaunbrecher came up with 44 in 100 sweeps. The minimum threshold is 30, so another insecticide application is being recommended.

Harvest is just around the corner, with a projected date of July 17 at the earliest, and Zaunbrecher said he will drain the north part of the field soon where the developing grains are in the dough stage. The developing grains on the south half of the field is in the milk stage.

For detailed explanations of milk and dough stages go to: http://lsuagcenterrice.blogspot.com/2007/07/rice-crop-maturing.html

Eskew said some fields in Jefferson Davis Parish are already being drained, which means they could be harvested as early as July 10.

The blog field at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station is about 10 percent headed, according to Larry White, manager of the Rice Station’s Foundation Seed Program.
He said a team will be at the field Monday to rogue the field of off-types and red rice.
The field probably won’t be ready for harvest until the last week of July or the first week of August, White said.

Heavy rainfall Wednesday dumped 1.72 inches (4.4 centimeters) of rain on the station.
The annual Rice Research Station Field Day will be held next Wednesday (July 2) with field tours beginning at 7:30 a.m. If you would like a firsthand look at the Catahoula blog field and also like to learn more about rice production, please plan to attend.

Weather turning warmer, plant growth improving

2008-05-22T10:48:00.004-06:00

The Zaunbrecher rice field near Lake Arthur is progressing slowly, like many rice fields in South Louisiana. But Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, is pleased with how the crop appears. With warmer temperatures the crop should begin to grow quickly.

Saichuk determined that some of the plants have a half-inch of internode elongation, shown on in the plant on the right of the picture of two dissected plants. Green ring in both plants is circled in black, and the black line shows the elongation.

Saichuk said the half-inch node is significant. “That’s when you no longer want to make 2,4-D applications.”
Saichuk said the plants will start using more and more water, and he advised Ronnie “Blue” Zaunbrecher to pump up the level.
“This is when rice can use as much as an inch of water a day,” he said.
Saichuk estimates that the rice plants will reach boot stage on June 10, and harvest will be the last week in July.
He said weekly visits to the Zaunbrecher field will focus on scouting for diseases and stinkbugs.
The Rice Research Station field of Catahoula variety is progressing nicely. Thin spots are slowly beginning to disappear as this is the growth stage where maximum tillering (stooling) occurs. The plants are nearing the panicle initiation growth stage which is when the plants begin to shift from vegetative to reproductive growth stages.

Lots of rain

2008-05-16T15:21:00.000-06:00

Rice fields across South Louisiana are draining excess water after Thursday morning’s heavy downpour. Young rice plants in the blog field at the Rice Research Station were underwater after getting 4.25 inches of rainfall. Larry White, manager of the Rice Research Station’s foundation seed program, had to make levee repairs and drain off excess water.
Meanwhile, at the blog field grown by Ronnie “Blue” Zaunbrecher of Lake Arthur, a little more than 3 inches fell. Zaunbrecher said he will have 2,4-D sprayed on the field to combat alligator weed.
Cool temperatures are expected tonight and Saturday, with a steady warm-up expected and no forecast of rain possibilities until late next week.

2008-05-01T08:33:00.004-06:00

Four herbicides were sprayed Wednesday morning onto the rice crop on the blog field at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station.
Dr. Eric Webster, LSU AgCenter weed scientist, said the compounds mixed together included Arrosolo for grasses including sprangletop, Prowl for its residual action on grasses, Londax for broadleaf weeds and sedges, and Permit to fight sedges and residual effects on broadleaf weeds. The yellow coloring from the plume of spray is from Prowl.
Larry White, manager of the Rice Research Station’s seed program said that urea fertilizer will be applied by airplane Thursday morning at the rate of 200 pounds per acre (this will be 92 lb of actual nitrogen per acre) then the permanent flood will be pumped onto the field.

Meanwhile at the Zaunbrecher field near Lake Arthur, Dr. John Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said the crop looks good, but it is growing slowly because of recent cool temperatures.
“It looks good, but it’s just moving slowly.”

Saichuk said green ring stage had been predicted for May 18-20, but now he thinks that will be pushed back by a few days because of the slow growth rate.
Saichuk said farmer Ronnie “Blue” Zaunbrecher will pump some water onto the field to bring up the water level. The week’s rainfall total was a quarter inch, or .7 of a centimeter.

LSU AgCenter Master Farmer Program Includes the Rice Station Blog Field

2008-04-29T08:24:00.002-06:00

Not only is the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station blog field being monitored with a webcam a monitoring station takes samples of any water that runs off the field as part of the LSU AgCenter Master Farmer program.
After every rainfall event, Dr. Ernest Girouard of the Master Farmer program, collects samples from monitoring stations at fields across Southwest Louisiana, including the one on the blog field. The photo above shows Girouard preparing the solar-powered monitoring station to collect water samples for the next rain event. To the left is the smaller bottle of collected runoff water that is being analyzed by an LSU AgCenter laboratory in Baton Rouge to determine levels of suspended and dissolved solids, nitrates, chlorides, bromides, sulfates, phosphorous and biological oxygen demand.
The Master Farmer program has been widely accepted by the rice industry with the majority of participants growing rice. It is a great testament to the Louisiana rice growers and their appreciation for natural resources.
Rainfall at the station during the past weekend totaled .69 of an inch, or 1.75 centimeters.
The monitoring stations automatically take water samples when a flow meter senses that water is draining from the field.
The analysis of the irrigation water and water discharged for the parameters listed under monitoring for best management practices will provide valuable information of what is leaving the field after nutrients are applied and what is needed by the rice plant to obtain optimum economic yields.

Catahoula variety seed production

2008-04-24T13:23:00.006-06:00

The blog field at the Rice Research Station is a foundation seed field for a new long-grain variety, Catahoula, previously known by its number LA2082 when it was under development.

A research plot of the line LA2082 released late last year as the variety Catahoula.

The variety was developed by Dr. Steve Linscombe, rice breeder and director of the Rice Research Station.
This year’s Catahoula is for foundation seed production, and it will be available next year to plant to produce registered seed. The station produced enough seed for the variety to be grown on over 1,500 acres by seed growers this year. The variety will be available in 2010 for commercial production.
Linscombe said the variety is superior to the varieties Cocodrie and Cheniere in terms of yield and quality. Because the old Arkansas variety, Drew, is one of its parents, Catahoula has good blast disease resistance, Linscombe said.
“We think the variety is going to be a good fit for us,” he said.
The blog field received three-quarters of an inch (2 centimeters) of rain in the past 24 hours.
Larry White, in charge of the Rice Research Station's seed production, said the field will be sprayed with herbicides, fertilized and flooded within the next week.

Rice bounces back at Zaunbrecher farm

2008-04-24T08:56:00.005-06:00

Eddie Eskew walks the field to examine the crop's condition.

“That’s a good field of rice,” remarked Eddie Eskew, LSU AgCenter county agent in Jefferson Davis Parish, as he gazed out on Ronnie “Blue” Zaunbrecher’s field near Lake Arthur.
A week ago, the rice looked limp and pitiful after a cold snap. Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, was prepared to recommend another shot of zinc if the weather didn’t warm up.
But Saichuk was pleased with the rice’s recovery. Most of the leaves were upright, and the plants looked much greener. And new leaves appeared to be wider and more robust than the spindly leaves floating on the water.

Comparison of new leaf at the top of the photo and the older, less healthy leaf.

Saichuk said the rice is about to start tillering, and he was pleased that no signs of rice water weevils could be found.
For Zaunbrecher, the field’s improved condition is a huge relief, even though he admits he knows a struggling rice crop usually will bounce back and make a good crop.
“This is the hardest time for a farmer, the first 6 weeks, to make it come through the water,” he said.
The rain gauge showed 1.38 inches since last week. Zaunbrecher said a thunderstorm with hard rain and hail passed over his house early Wednesday morning.

Young rice struggling

2008-04-17T08:39:00.007-06:00

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.

Herbicides working on Zaunbrecher field

2008-04-09T13:26:00.005-06:00

Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, stopped by the Zaunbrecher field this morning and he liked what he saw.

"The herbicides appear to be working on the Juncus," he reported.

He had been uncertain whether applying an ounce of Permit per acre would work but he said it appears that the weed has been knocked down by the compound. The mixture included a half ounce of Londax and a gallon of zinc per acre, with crop oil added at the rate of 1 gallon per 100 gallons of liquid.

A permanent flood of 3-4 inches has been pumped onto the field. "We have no intention of letting the water out until just before harvest."

Saichuk said he has recommended application of an insecticide, such as Mustang Max or Karate, to address rice water weevils before the pests get out of hand. He said scarring was found on the 2-leaf rice and some pairs of the insects were found.

Saichuk said he is somewhat concerned that the cool weather expected this weekend could retard growth of the young crop.

Flushing the Station Field/Guests Take a Look

2008-04-07T07:33:00.003-06:00

Larry White, manager of the Foundation Seed Program at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station, has turned the water on the station field for a flushing of water intended to soak the soil to provide moisture to seedlings and encourage germination of seed yet to sprout.
White said Thursday when the flush is complete, he will allow the seedlings to grow approximately a week before applying fertilizer. At the top of the picture above, water flows out of a riser, then flows out of the field through a plastic curtain designed to prevent the water movement from eroding a levee.

Thursday morning, visitors stopped by the station blog field. Members of the 2008 USA Rice Leadership Class visited the station and Dr. Steven Linscombe, station director, gave them an overview of the station and he provided a tour of the facilities. They heard Drs. Herry Utomo and Ida Wenefrida discuss the role of genetic markers in the breeding program, then stopped at several fields on the station to see work in progress, including the blog field. Dr. Carrie Castille, a Leadership class member and director of the LSU AgCenter Master Farmer program, explained how runoff water from selected fields is being studied to help producers adopt best management practices.

The class making the stop at the station blog field is shown in the picture above. From left to right are Michael Fruge of Pearland, Texas; Kirk Meins of Stuttgart, Ark.; Castille; Blake Gerard of Cape Girardeau, Mo.; Sean Doherty of College City, Calif.; Dan Hosman of Jonesboro, Ark.; Chuck Wilson, director of the Rice Foundation who oversees the leadership classes; Linscombe; and Buddy Allen of Tunica, Miss.

Rice Has Emerged on the Zaunbrecher Field

2008-04-03T10:24:00.009-06:00

Rice plants emerged during the weekend at the Zaunbrecher field near Lake Arthur.
The farmer, Ronnie “Blue” Zaunbrecher of Lake Arthur, said the rice seedlings responded to the warmer weather.
Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said the rice is at the 1-leaf stage and he estimated emergence occurred Saturday (March 29). Shown above is a view of the rice plants.

Weeds are dominating some areas of the 39-acre field.
Saichuk walked the field April 2 with Zaunbrecher and they identified several weeds that could cause problems. The worst Saichuk found was Juncus. In the picture below, Saichuk, on the right, and farmer Ronnie "Blue" Zaunbrecher walk through the field with the heaviest concentration of the waxy-leaf weed.

“We knew it was here and we knew we didn’t get it with the burndown,” Saichuk said.
He also found starworts, sedges, alligator weed and water primrose.
“We need to get the flood on the field before we have a red rice problem,” Saichuk said.
Zaunbrecher said the field has been used for crawfish, so the aquatic weed problem is to be expected. “Compared to what it used to be, this is clean.”
Saichuk prescribed an ounce of Permit per acre for the Juncus, and a half ounce of Londax for the other weeds, in addition to a gallon of zinc per acre and a 1 percent concentration of crop oil, 200 pounds of urea and 40 pounds of potash.
After all that material is applied by airplane, the field will be flooded.

Below is a picture of a King snake found during Saichuk's weekly walking inspection of the field.

Spraying for Weeds

2008-03-26T14:08:00.001-06:00

Now that the Rice Research Station field has been planted, Larry White took the initiative against weed pressure Wednesday morning with a ground rig. He sprayed a tank-mixed combination that included Honcho Plus for grasses, Permit for sedges and Command to attack weeds before they emerge from the ground. Uncontrolled weeds can detract from a crop’s yield by as much as 70 percent, by robbing plants of valuable nutrients and sunlight.

Rice Research Station Field Planted

2008-03-25T15:26:00.003-06:00

The blog field at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station was planted Tuesday morning. Larry White, manager of the Rice Station foundation seed program, said the new Catahoula variety was drill seeded at the rate of 42 pounds an acre at a depth of approximately three quarters of an inch.
“There was a little frost in the low spots this morning,” according to White.
But by this weekend, temperatures are supposed to be in the 60s at night and the mid-80s, ideal conditions for rice to germinate.
White said he’ll flush the field next week.

In the photo, the rows can be seen to the right of the tractor where the seed was planted. In the background on the left is a small planter used for research plots.

Zaunbrecher Field is Planted

2008-03-22T06:27:00.004-06:00

With good, warm weather, rice farmers are jumping at the chance to start planting.
On Wednesday, Lake Arthur farmer Ronnie “Blue” Zaunbrecher had seed flown onto the flooded 39-acre field featured in the blog. The field is in this year’s LSU AgCenter Verification Program.
The seeding rate was 120 pounds per acre of the Cheniere variety.

The above photo shows seed falling from the airplane.

Below is a shot of the seed as it hits the water.

Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist in charge of the verification program, recommended that Zaunbrecher not drain the field until Friday. The seed had been soaked to hasten germination, but Saichuk said the seed did not appear to be adequately pipped, or sprouting enough to allow immediate draining after planting. “I think it needs to sit there for 24 hours, then turn the water loose.”
He said the flood will protect the seed from tonight’s cold temperatures in the 40s.
By draining the field, the seed will sprout into the mud and make it less likely to be moved later when the field is reflooded.
Saichuk said reflooding can be done in 4-5 days, and herbicides and fertilizer applied in the next 10 days.
Meanwhile back at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station, the 21.25-acre field may be planted within the week if the soil gets dry. Larry White, manager of the Rice Research Station’s foundation seed program, said the field is too wet for drill seeding.

Getting Ready to Plant the 2008 Rice Crop

2008-03-13T14:04:00.005-06:00

As the days get warmer, rice farmers are eager to start planting.
Ronnie “Blue” Zaunbrecher of Lake Arthur , pictured above, expects to start in the next few days. One of the fields he will plant will be one of 2 featured in this year’s rice farming blog. The other field is located at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station.
The blog will follow Zaunbrecher’s 39-acre field that is in this year’s LSU AgCenter verification program under the supervision of Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist.
Zaunbrecher is a fifth generation farmer. His forefathers started in the Mowata area, then some of the family settled in Gueydan and later Lake Arthur.
Zaunbrecher, 38, has been farming since 1996. He earned a bachelor’s degree in agriculture from McNeese and a master’s degree in agriculture at LSU where he studied sugarcane breeding. He was attending Texas A&M to get a doctorate degree in cotton breeding when he decided to return to Louisiana and start farming.
“This will be crop No. 13,” Zaunbrecher said.
He’s never seen rice prices this high, topping $30 a barrel on the futures market, but he knows firsthand that expenses are higher than ever for fuel, fertilizer and chemicals such as glyphosate.
Zaunbrecher will water seed the verification field with Cheniere at the rate of 120 pounds per acre. He said he favors Cheniere because of its high-yielding advantage, possibly 4 to 5 bushels more per acre.
He currently has a 6-inch flood on the field, made up of three cuts. It was fallow last year, and he applied glyphosate last month to burn off vegetation. Zaunbrecher said the best the field has yielded was 48 barrels when it was planted in Wells a few years ago.
“That was a year it just grew and grew, and never stopped.”
Between him and his two brothers, Randall and Russell Zaunbrecher, they will plant roughly 2,200 acres of rice. They also hope to plant soybeans, with the acreage depending on seed availability.

In addition to Zaunbrecher’s field, a 21.25-acre field at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station will be followed this year, and the webcam will be focused on it so you can check on the crop’s progress.
Larry White, manager of the Rice Research Station’s seed program, said the field will be drill-seeded with Catahoula, a long-grain variety released by the LSU AgCenter last year.
White said the field will be planted “as soon as it dries up,” which could be in a week.
You can see the field now at http://www.lsuagcenter.com/ricecam/.

Harvest results tallied

2007-08-14T08:14:00.000-06:00

The final numbers are in for the harvest of the blog field. The picture above shows the field after the rice was cut.

Larry White determined the overall yield was 46.26 barrels per acre at 18.5 percent moisture. That will be 42.8 barrels after the rice is dried in bins to 12 percent moisture.

In South Louisiana, rice is measured in barrels. A barrel is 162 pounds of rice.
North Louisiana farmers measure rice by the bushel. A total of 45 pounds is contained in 1 bushel, and that works out ot .277 of a barrel. One barrel contains 3.6 bushels.
But rice also is measured in hundredweights (100 pounds of rice = 1 hundredweight).

Meanwhile, several other fields at the station have been harvested while others are not mature enough for harvest. Some varieties mature earlier than others. Farmers generally prefer an earlier harvest to avoid the peak of hurricane season in late August and early September.

Rice harvest begins

2007-08-06T13:51:00.000-06:00

Harvest of the rice blog field began at approximately 11:30 a.m. on Monday, August 06. This is 139 days since the field was seeded on March 20. The grain moisture of the first truckload of rice harvested was about 18%. This means that the grain at this stage contained approximately 18% water. Rice is typically harvested at between 17-21 % grain moisture. The grain is then artificially dried down to about 12% moisture. The reason rice is harvested at higher moisture then artificially dried (as opposed to letting the grain dry in the field prior to harvest) is to maintain the grain quality. If the grain dries much below 17% in the field, there is excessive breakage of the rice grains during the milling process. Even though the grain harvested from this field will be used for seed, maintenance of grain quality is still important.

Shortly after the harvest began, a bearing broke on the clean grain elevator on the harvest combine. The combine had to be brought into the Rice Research Station Maintenance Shop for repairs. The combine will be repaired and the harvest operation will resume as soon as possible. This is not a rare occurrence in any commercial rice farming operation. Harvest machines are very complex with a large number of moving parts and breakdowns necessitating repairs are commonplace during the harvest season.

Grain continues to mature

2007-07-20T12:11:00.000-06:00

The aim of draining of the field is to get the water removed to allow the ground to dry so harvesting equipment can get to the crop. If farmers have to harvest in a muddy field, the ground gets rutted from the equipment sinking in the mud and that creates problems for a second crop of rice. It could cause more work for next year’s crop also, with additional field preparation.
Dr. Richard Dunand, LSU AgCenter plant physiologist, said the drained field also will allow the grain moisture to decrease, but the weather must cooperate with little to no rain. He estimates harvest is about 2 weeks away.

Dunand estimated that grain moisture is roughly 30 percent, about 10-12 percent more than farmers want for harvest. Since the rice from this field will be sold as seed, it may be allowed to dry to less than 18 percent grain moisture before harvest. He said rice grains lose about a half to 1 percent of their moisture per day under dry conditions. “As long as we have cloudy weather, that process will be slowed,” he said.
In the photo below, normal rice grains that are mature, as indicated by their golden color, are mixed on the same panicle with green hulls that indicate maturity is not complete for those grains.

In this picture, purple rice hulls indicate grains failed to develop, possibly because of interference with the pollination process. Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, referred to this condition in his July 10 installment of Field Notes.

www.lsuagcenter.com/en/crops_livestock/crops/rice

Some grains are blank because of damage from an insect called a stem borer. The picture below shows that the panicles never developed. On the right is the stem cut from the same stalk that shows where a stem borer insect invaded the plant.

Stink bugs will continue to feed on developing grain. Here a stink bug is poised to feed on a grain in the milk stage or dough stage, but the insect’s mouth part, called a proboscis, is not piercing the grain.

Larry White

2007-07-18T12:41:00.000-06:00

This is the man behind the blog field, Larry White, manager of the seed program at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station.
Farming came naturally for White.
“I grew up on a farm next to my grandfather’s house,” he said.
White graduated from LSU in 1978 with a degree in agriculture business. For a couple of years, he farmed with his grandfather, Elzy Faulk, and uncle Johnny Faulk near Crowley.
Then a job as research associate opened at the Rice Station to work with Dr. Earl Sonnier. After Sonnier retired, White transferred to his current job.
“I do everything from planting it, harvesting it, drying it, cleaning it and selling it,” White said.
In December, White starts selling foundation seed to seed growers.
Dr. Steve Linscombe, director of the Rice Research Station, said White’s work is valuable to rice growers.
"Larry’s hard work, perseverance and dedication have made the Rice Research Station's Foundation Seed Program an outstanding asset to the rice industry,” Linscombe said. “He is dedicated to achieving the highest level of quality and purity for all seed produced from his efforts. He is also always willing to lend a helping hand to all other research projects on the station."

Drain the field for harvest

2007-07-16T11:18:00.000-06:00

Water started flowing through the field Monday morning as the gates were opened to release water in preparation for harvest in about 2 weeks. Below, water from the field enters a drainage ditch at the Rice Research Station.

Rice crop maturing

2007-07-13T15:29:00.000-06:00

The blog field continues to mature as grain filling is underway. Harvest is only 3 weeks away.

Much of the crop is in the milk stage, as shown in the picture to the left. A milk-like liquid is in the hulls. This is a prime growth stage for stink bugs to use their piercing mouth parts to penetrate the hull and feed on the developing kernels. In this field, an application of Mustang Max has been made to control the insects.

Within a few days, the starchy liquid becomes solidified, reaching the dough stage when the grain is soft and pasty, as shown in this picture.

Here are two panicles. The one on the left is still in the milk stage. The panicle on the right has started to droop from the weight of the solidifying grain that has entered the dough stage.

Pollination

2007-07-03T14:48:00.000-06:00

Pollination is underway in the blog field.

After heading, pollination begins near the top end of the panicle and progresses downward. Pollination of all of the florets on an individual panicle requires about 3 days. During this time the florets are susceptible to rough weather like we've been having lately. (It rained more than an inch at the station yesterday in just a few minutes.) Strong winds and heavy rain usually associated with thunderstorms at this time can cause inadequate pollination. The resulting florets will be empty, producing no grain. If this condition is significant, grain yield can be reduced.

In this photo, pollination has occurred, and the rice hull is closing and the anthers remain exposed.

Florets open to allow pollination generally between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. This can vary depending on environmental conditions mostly associated with temperature and humidity. Under cloudy, cool, calm or humid conditions, the time for pollination may shift later by as much as an hour or so.

After pollination, grain filling begins. So, when pollination is noted it is time to think about checking for stink bugs and considering the insecticide programs that are available for stinkbug control.

Field Day

2007-06-27T12:52:00.001-06:00

The Rice Research Station is the place to be June 28 for the annual Field Day.

In the above picture, LSU AgCenter county agents and Rice Research Station scientists ride by the blog field during preparations for the Field Day.

The day starts at 7:30 a.m. with field tours continuing until 9:30 a.m.

A poster session highlighting research and agricultural products will be held from 7:30 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, will be available to provide answers to questions about their crop. Farmers who have questions related to diseases, insects or weeds should bring samples.
The program starts at 10:45 a.m. with a review of Louisiana Rice Research Board activities by LRRB vice chairman Jackie Loewer. He will be followed by Johnny Broussard, USA Rice Federation legislative affairs director, who will give an update on the latest developments in congress related to the farm bill and how it could affect rice farmers.
Dr. Mike Salassi, LSU AgCenter economist, will discuss rice economics, and the program will end with remarks from Dr. Bill Richardson, LSU AgCenter chancellor.

Panicles are emerging

2007-06-27T07:21:00.000-06:00

As you can see from the above photo, the blog field shows a wide variety of maturity. Some plants are fully headed, while the panicles on other plants are just starting to emerge from the boot, the sheath of the flag leaf, the tallest and last leaf to form on a plant. Still others are in the boot split phase, which means the panicle’s growth has caused the boot to split apart, and a few plants are starting to pollinate. It appears the field is reaching 50 percent heading which is a good time to decide about a fungicide application for sheath blight and rotten neck blast.
Four stages of maturity area shown, with boot splitting on the left and a fully headed plant at far right.

Dr. Richard Dunand, LSU AgCenter plant physiologist at the Rice Research Station, estimates the field is 5 weeks from harvest.

Dunand said the rice plants that experience less fertilizer enters the heading stage earlier. That often happens on the edges of a field, which happened at the blog field, where pilots have to negotiate around power lines or where the field elevation is higher, causing a shallower flood that makes for less efficient nitrogen availability. The edges of drill-seeded fields are sometime ‘dressed up’ with an extra drill pass or two around the perimeter of the field. When this occurs as it has in the blog field, stand (plant population) is high. The stand may have a higher plant population on the edges of a field, and with a dense plant population, competition between plants can lead to slightly earlier maturity. Dunand said he suspects each of the situations above contributed to why the borders of this field are showing earlier maturity.

Below is a photo of plants taken from the field that shows the varying growth stages. The plant on the left has the panicle splitting the boot, while the plant second from the left shows the panicle emerging from the boot. Far right is a fully headed panicle with florets starting to appear on the top of the plant for pollination.

Panicles continue growth

2007-06-13T14:49:00.001-06:00

The rice crop in the blog field is growing well, and it is approaching the stage that signals the window for spraying a preventive application of fungicide to protect the field against cercospora.
Last year, the fungal disease wreaked havoc on rice across Southwest Louisiana in the weeks just before harvest, so farmers are on guard against it this year.
Dr. Richard Dunand, LSU AgCenter plant physiologist at the Rice Research Station, dissected several plants in the field Wednesday and found the developing panicles ranging from 2 to 4 inches. Dunand said the consensus is that fungicides intended to fight cercospora should be applied when the average panicle reaches 4 inches. He said that means several plants should be examined to get a good overall survey of a field because plants mature at a different rate, perhaps by as much as a week to 10 days depending on the field.
Larry White, manager of the seed program at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station, said Dr. Don Groth, LSU AgCenter plant pathologist at the Rice Research Station, will make a recommendation on what day to apply a fungicide and which chemical to use. But the application by airplane could occur within the week.
Below is a panicle that has grown to 2.5 inches long (almost 6.5 centimeters). The individual florets are developing which will become the reproductive parts of the plant, with each floret, after pollination, becoming a grain of rice.

Meanwhile, Larry is pumping water on the rice field, since it hasn’t rained at the station since Saturday night’s 1-inch downpour.

Panicle differentiation

2007-06-07T12:53:00.000-06:00

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.

Conditions ripe for disease

2007-06-01T09:50:00.000-06:00

The wet, humid weather of the past few days in Southwest Louisiana have enhanced conditions for disease on rice. (The rain gauge Friday morning showed .08 inches of rain in the past 24 hours, and rain is possible today. The previous day’s total was 1.9 inches.)
“This is going to bring it on,” said Dr. Don Groth, LSU AgCenter pathologist at the Rice Research Station. “This is perfect weather for disease.”
He said the blog field showed some potential signs of narrow brown spot caused by the cercospera disease. Up to five fields in the area are showing signs of Cercospora, but lab tests are needed to confirm its presence, he said.
The photo at right shows the narrow lesions that Groth, pictured above, suspects are caused by Cercospora.
This isn’t the only disease to worry about, however.
“Everything that keeps that canopy wet is perfect for sheath blight,” Groth said.
The window for spraying fungicides is quickly approaching. He recommends waiting until rice is between the mid-boot stage to 50-75 percent heading before making an application. Even though some signs of disease are showing up, he said, it’s best to wait for that time frame to get optimum effectiveness. For the blog field, Groth estimates the best time to spray will be in late June.
The blog field’s low seeding rate (42 pounds per acre) means the canopy isn’t thick yet, so that will slow down disease development, Groth said. But it will be treated with fungicides anyway because the field is being grown for seed rice.
He said Quadris is usually in the fungicide regimen, but this year Quilt or Stratego will be used because both chemicals contain propiconazole which is effective on Cercospora.
“The fungicides are already ordered and the plane will be here at the appropriate time,” he said.

Rain, more possible today.

2007-05-31T09:05:00.000-06:00

The Rice Station recorded 1.9 inches of rain in the past 24 hours, and more is expected today. The picture above was taken Wednesday afternoon between storms. More rain is predicted for today. Rice farmers who haven't flooded their fields yet, the rain will save on the costs of pumping, but for farmers whose fields were flooded, the rain is of little consequence.
For farmers in Southwest Louisiana who planted soybeans in rotation with their rice, heavy rainfall now is not welcome.

Rice crop in transition

2007-05-30T15:00:00.000-06:00

The rice crop in the blog field has entered a critical stage, according to Dr. Richard Dunand, LSU AgCenter plant physiologist at the Rice Research Station.
After dissecting a plant, in the photo at left, he concluded that the crop has probably grown beyond the vegetative stage and entered the early phase of the reproductive stage. Dunand said the plants within the next week should reach panicle differentiation when the developing panicle, where the rice kernels will develop, can be found inside the plant with the unaided eye.
The initial stage of the reproductive phase is green ring, distinguished by a distinct green ring around the first white node of the plant just above the root structure, but Dunand concluded that the crop has moved beyond that stage.
Determining the reproductive stage is important for three reasons.
First, Dunand explained, it’s around this point that nitrogen fertilizer has its last chance to be effective. (The field received a top-dressing of fertilizer, as detailed in the previous entry.)\
Second, by this time, fields that were drained to control rice water weevils, and to reduce straighthead, a condition that results in panicles developing with little or no grain, should be reflooded.
And third, as the reproductive stage progresses, the window starts closing on the opportunity to spray 2,4-D herbicide.
As a plant enters the reproductive stage, it tends to curtail tillering, Dunand said.
And a field that has been seeded at a low rate as this one has at 42 pounds an acre, tends to compensate for the low plant population by remaining in the vegetative stage longer and tillering more than a field planted at a higher seeding rate.
Shown to the right is a dissected plant. The tip of the knife is pointing at the area where the panicle will develop.

2007-05-23T11:50:00.000-06:00

Aerial application of urea fertilizer (125 pounds per acre of 45 percent nitrogen) came a little earlier than expected today. It was supposed to be made at 10 a.m., but it was moved up an hour earlier. In the top photo, pilot Dennis Vega loads the fertilizer into his airplane at a nearby airstrip before making several passes over the field.

Larry White, manager of the seed program at the Rice Station, is hoping it will rain today to help flood the field and to allow the fertilizer to permeate the soil so it can be absorbed by the plants. Rain is predicted, and any moisture would mean less water that would have to be pumped to flood the field, but as of noon today, only .02 inches of rain had fallen in the past 24 hours.

Different wings were also flying over the field earlier. At right is a heron in midflight over a levee. (Click on the picture to get a bigger image and you can see a killdeer on the levee.) Thousands of insects similar to mayflies were also buzzing in the air over the field.

THE FIELD IS DRAINED

2007-05-21T10:47:00.000-06:00

All the water is off the field, and as you can see in the photos, the ground is starting to crack open. More water will be pumped onto the field this week, and another application of fertilizer is expected to be made Wednesday around 10 a.m. Set your clock to remind you to use our webcam to watch the airplane drop nitrogen on the field.

(Note: The top photograph, taken at a low angle between rows of drill-seeded rice, shows the tower at the Rice Station dryer complex. It was from the top of this tower that the two pictures of the airplane applying fertilizer were taken on April 19.)

DRAIN THE FIELD

2007-05-18T15:07:00.001-06:00

MAY 16
The field was drained and the soil will be allowed to dry to the point of cracking to allow aeration of the root zone. This is a cultural practice to control the physiological disorder called straighthead. This disorder is often of a greater potential in fields that have not been planted to rice for several years. Since this field has been out of production for 9 years, this draining and drying is being done as a precaution.

WATCH RICE GROW!

2007-05-18T15:04:00.001-06:00

MAY 8

You will be able to watch rice grow with a webcam installed at the rice station. It is aimed at the field being followed in this web log.

You can view the field with real-time still pictures by going to the website, http://www.lsuagcenter.com/ricecam/

To the right , Davis Dautreuil, LSU AgCenter regional technical support specialist, installs the camera.

2007-05-18T14:56:00.001-06:00

APRIL 24
Nitrogen fertilizer was applied by air to the field at the rate of 200 pounds per acre, then the permanent flood was applied. You can see the white granules of fertilizer in the picture below. Larry White said the flood will be maintained until the decision is made to drain the field to prevent straighthead.

2007-05-18T14:54:00.000-06:00

APRIL 23
Three herbicides were sprayed at once in an aerial application. The herbicides, Prowl, Permit and Arrosolo, were recommended by LSU AgCenter weed specialist Dr. Eric Webster. Larry White said the same combination used on fields at the station last year worked well. Webster recommended Prowl for its residual action on grasses and small-seed broadleaf weeds, Arrosolo for grasses such as barnyard grass and broadleaf weeds, and Permit for nut sedge.

2007-05-18T14:39:00.001-06:00

APRIL 19
Fertilizer was applied by airplane today at the rate of 250 pounds per acre. The fertilizer was 8-24-24 made up of 8 pounds of nitrogen, 24 pounds of phosphorous (P205) and 24 pounds of potassium (K20) in each 100 pounds.

Preparing an airplane for the planting season often requires making sure the equipment is properly adjusted. The LSU AgCenter has a program to test airplanes before they take to the fields to make sure material is being distributed across a field in an even pattern. Pictured below is the test procedure being used for an airplane at the LeGros Airport near Estherwood on March 30.

2007-05-18T14:38:00.001-06:00

APRIL 17
Rice plants on the field appear to be recovering from the cold. Here, a plant has a healthy, green leaf that will replace the previous growth damaged by cold weather during the Easter weekend.

2007-05-18T14:34:00.001-06:00

APRIL 9

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen sleet in South Louisiana. But who would have expected frozen precipitation in April? But that’s exactly what happened April 7. Fortunately, the temperatures didn’t get low enough to result in frost.
As expected after passage of a strong cold front, the south wind that came by April 13 was intense. Larry White, manager of the seed program at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station, said the cold and wind combined had a definite impact on the young rice plants.
Here’s a rice plant from the field being monitored in this blog.

Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, said young rice plants can be protected from a frost or freeze with an insulating layer of water.
Saichuk additionally shared his thoughts on the impacts of the cold in his weekly field notes:

http://www.lsuagcenter.com/NR/rdonlyres/2B9E0C97-68EF-49F2-9B52-8BE92FD937B2/35267/FieldNotes41307coldtempinj.pdf

Will the yellowed plants affect the harvest with lower yields? “That’s a long time from now,” Larry White said.
He said the DD50 computer program for projecting a rice crop’s timetable indicates that this field should be harvested by July 23, about a week sooner than most harvests at the station. But the earlier planting moved the harvest back.

2007-05-18T14:22:00.001-06:00

MARCH 24
To direct water into each section of the field, plastic sheeting – called curtains – are used to prevent the moving water from eroding the levees. Here, a station crew installs a curtain. The top photo shows a series of curtains.

2007-05-18T14:17:00.001-06:00

MARCH 23
Dr. Johnny Saichuk, LSU AgCenter rice specialist, has installed a flow meter at the field to monitor how much water is used. Shown here is the monitor gauge that indicates the flow of water in gallons per minute. The gauge shows a flow between 500 and 600 gpm.

Planting

2007-05-18T14:13:00.000-06:00

March 20:
Rice seed was sown into a stale seedbed with a drill similar to the one being used in the picture above. The variety planted was Cocodrie, developed and released from the Rice Research Station in 1998. It has been grown on more acres than any other single variety in U.S. rice production over the past 10 years.

Before planting the field had been sprayed on Feb. 12 with herbicides that included 2,4-D and glyphosate.
The laser-leveled field is divided into five sections, or cuts, using four levees.
The rice sprouts emerged March 27, a week after planting.