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

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

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.