Rainfall at the Station

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

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.