Disease pressure light so far

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.

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.

Durel Romaine's field almost ready for flood

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

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

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.