2102 blog field harvested

Harvest of the blog field Tuesday (July 31) resulted in a respectable yield of 50.25 barrels per acre, or 8,141 pounds per acre, according to Larry White, manager of the Rice Research Station’s foundation seed program.

No second crop will be grown, and the field will now be allowed to remain fallow for 2 years before it is planted in rice again.

Blog field visitor

A critter recently traipsed through the blog field, as shown by the photo below of the tracks. The animal entered the east side of the field and made a bee-line for the west side.

Weeds under attack

Larry White, foundation seed manager at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station, sprayed a mixtures of the herbicides propanil, Permit and Londax. The chemicals will address a spectrum of weeds that includes grasses, sedges and aquatic plants, including alligatorweed.

Fertilizer is scheduled to be applied this week, followed by the permanent flood.

Leadership class visits Rice Research Station

The USA Rice Leadership Class of 2012 visited the Rice Research Station for supper Wednesday night. They were treated with Cajun music and heard from Dr. Mike Strain, secretary of the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry, who talked about the healthy condition of the state’s  agricultural industry.

Thursday, the class was given a tour of the Rice Research Station, then visited the Zaubrecher farm near Rayne to watch different farming techniques. They later dined on crawfish at the home of farmer Christian Richard and his wife Julie.

Farmers in the class are Brian Barrett, Arbuckle, Calif.; Rance Daniels, Hornersville, Mo.; Timothy Gertson, Lissie, Texas; Noble Guedon, Natchez, Miss.; and Clint Roth, Stuttgart, Ark..

The industry-related class members are Dr. Natalie Hummel, LSU  AgCenter entomologist, and Brice Lauppe, rice buyer from Farmer’s Rice Cooperative in Roseville, Calif.

After the rain

Rice seedlings received a welcome dose of rain, 1.35 inches to be exact, on Monday. More rain is expected Wednesday as farmers work to get their crops planted. Shown above  are rice seedlings in the wet soil.

 In the picture below, Bill Leonards, Rice Research Station farm manager, takes measurements to repair a plastic fitting in the blog field.

Breaking through the crust

Despite last week’s torrential rain, the surface of the blog field is dry and crusty. Shown above is a rice sprout breaking through the soil within a small animal footprint. Below is a picture of the seedling.

Larry White, director of the LSU AgCenter’s foundation seed program, expects emergence of the crop will be visible in a day or two.

Check the progress of the blog field

You can see how the rice crop is doing on the blog field in real time.
Here's how: on the right side of the screen, you'll see "Rice Field WEBCAM." Click on the link right below it that says http://www.lsuagcenter.com/ricecam.

2012 blog field planted

The 2012 blog field, a 6-acre field of Jazzman 2, was planted  Monday. Early Wednesday morning, a welcome rain of almost 2.5 inches flushed the field and that should help the seeds sprout.  In the movie clip above, water is draining from the field. By Thursday morning, most of the field had been drained.

Larry White, LSU AgCenter foundation seed manager at the Rice Research Station, drill seeded at the rate of 40 pounds per acre. The seed was treated prior to planting with a fungicide, Dermacor to control rice water weevils  and gibberillic acid  to promote early growth before it was planted.

Before planting, White sprayed herbicides to control existing weeds that included sedges and barnyardgrass.