Rice Farming

Louisiana State University’s AgCenter recently released three new rice varieties—a conventional long grain, an herbicide-tolerant long grain and a medium grain—all with improved yield potential over current comparable varieties.

Seed for the conventional long grain, Trenasse, and the medium grain, Jupiter, will be available this season as foundation seed for registered seed production.

Seed for CL-131, the long-grain Clearfield variety tolerant to Newpath herbicide, will be sold through HorizonAg and its Orygen Seed Marketing System.

About 8,000 acres worth of registered CL-131 seed will be available to seed producers for certified seed production this season, says Horizon Ag’s general manager Randy Ouzts.

A very limited amount—about 2,500 acres worth—of certified CL-131 seed will be available for commercial rice production, Ouzts says.

Trenasse—an early-maturing variety
Based on comments from growers who wanted an earlier maturing long grain, LSU rice breeder Steve Linscombe developed Trenasse.

The new long grain reaches 50 percent heading about four to five days earlier than Cocodrie and is more in line with Jefferson’s maturity, Linscombe says.

“We think Trenasse will be another variety for people who want to spread out their harvest a bit,” Linscombe says.

But that’s about all it shares with the Texas variety.

Trenasse has head rice yields comparable to Cocodrie, but Linscombe says he believes the newcomer won’t have the same milling issues as Cocodrie.

In the past, millers have complained at times about a sticky bran problem with Cocodrie.

Trenasse also produces a whiter kernel suitable for a packaged product.

Although Trenasse is 1 to 2 inches taller than Cocodrie, Linscombe says lodging hasn’t been an issue in university trials conducted over the past three years throughout the Midsouth and Southern rice belt.

The newcomer yields slightly less on the first cutting than Cocodrie, but has better second-crop yields than the current industry standard.

Trenasse has similar sheath blight susceptibility but better straighthead tolerance than Cocodrie.

“Cypress is one of the better varieties for straighthead (resistance),” Linscombe says. “This one isn’t quite as resistant as Cypress, but is a lot closer to Cypress than Cocodrie. We don’t think straighthead is going to be a problem.”

CL-131
Although CL-131 has the same tolerance to the Newpath herbicide as the earlier-released variety, CL-161, it runs 4 to 5 inches shorter and is about four days earlier than CL-161.

“It’s a true semi-dwarf and will stand much better,” Linscombe says of CL-131.

Nitrogen management will be the key, however.

If you’re a grower in southern Louisiana and apply 150 pounds of nitrogen to Cocodrie and Cypress or Cl-161, you won’t see much difference in plant height, Linscombe says.

But if you apply 30 to 40 pounds of additional nitrogen, you won’t increase Cocodrie’s plant height significantly, but you will see about a 6-inch increased in the plant height of CL-161.

CL-131 behaves more like Cocodrie in terms of response to increased nitrogen.

As with any variety, Linscombe says, applying higher nitrogen rates increases your potential for plant lodging as well as sheath blight.

CL-161 is coveted by millers because of its Cypress heritage and the package quality that Cypress is known for.

While CL-131 has a mixed pedigree, Linscome says he believes it, too, will provide millers with a nice packaged product. One of its parents is CL-161, which imparts the Newpath tolerance.

“The millers really like the appearance of 161, just as they did with Cypress, and I think they will like [CL-131], too,” Linscombe says. “It doesn’t have a lot of chalk.”

Much like Cl-161, CL-131 is susceptible to sheath blight, but has a “pretty decent” blast-resistance package, Linscombe says. The newcomer also is slightly more susceptible to straighthead than CL-161.

Jupiter
Although Jupiter has similar plant height and mills very closely to Bengal, it doesn’t share the same disease package. Jupiter is much more resistant to blast, says Xueyan Sha, an LSU rice breeder specializing in medium-grain development.

Based on two years of results from plant pathologist Chuck Rush’s trials, Jupiter also shows pretty good tolerance to panicle blight.

And based on three years of results from agronomist Pat Bollich’s trials, the new medium-grain also has good tolerance to straighthead.

Jupiter bested Bengal in yield potential by an average of 600 pounds per acre in 40 different tests conducted in five different states, Sha says.

Contact Vicky Boyd at (209) 571-0414 or vlboyd@att.net.

A three-peat LSU releases three varieties with winning yield potentials
By Vicky Boyd Editor
Louisiana State University’s AgCenter recently released three new rice varieties—a conventional long grain, an herbicide-tolerant long grain and a medium grain—all with improved yield potential over current comparable varieties. Seed for the conventional long grain, Trenasse, and the medium grain, Jupiter, will be available this season as foundation seed for registered seed production. Seed for CL-131, the long-grain Clearfield variety tolerant to Newpath herbicide, will be sold through HorizonAg and its Orygen Seed Marketing System. About 8,000 acres worth of registered CL-131 seed will be available to seed producers for certified seed production this season, says Horizon Ag’s general manager Randy Ouzts. A very limited amount—about 2,500 acres worth—of certified CL-131 seed will be available for commercial rice production, Ouzts says. Trenasse—an early-maturing variety Based on comments from growers who wanted an earlier maturing long grain, LSU rice breeder Steve Linscombe developed Trenasse. The new long grain reaches 50 percent heading about four to five days earlier than Cocodrie and is more in line with Jefferson’s maturity, Linscombe says. “We think Trenasse will be another variety for people who want to spread out their harvest a bit,” Linscombe says. But that’s about all it shares with the Texas variety. Trenasse has head rice yields comparable to Cocodrie, but Linscombe says he believes the newcomer won’t have the same milling issues as Cocodrie. In the past, millers have complained at times about a sticky bran problem with Cocodrie. Trenasse also produces a whiter kernel suitable for a packaged product. Although Trenasse is 1 to 2 inches taller than Cocodrie, Linscombe says lodging hasn’t been an issue in university trials conducted over the past three years throughout the Midsouth and Southern rice belt. The newcomer yields slightly less on the first cutting than Cocodrie, but has better second-crop yields than the current industry standard. Trenasse has similar sheath blight susceptibility but better straighthead tolerance than Cocodrie. “Cypress is one of the better varieties for straighthead (resistance),” Linscombe says. “This one isn’t quite as resistant as Cypress, but is a lot closer to Cypress than Cocodrie. We don’t think straighthead is going to be a problem.” CL-131 Although CL-131 has the same tolerance to the Newpath herbicide as the earlier-released variety, CL-161, it runs 4 to 5 inches shorter and is about four days earlier than CL-161. “It’s a true semi-dwarf and will stand much better,” Linscombe says of CL-131. Nitrogen management will be the key, however. If you’re a grower in southern Louisiana and apply 150 pounds of nitrogen to Cocodrie and Cypress or Cl-161, you won’t see much difference in plant height, Linscombe says. But if you apply 30 to 40 pounds of additional nitrogen, you won’t increase Cocodrie’s plant height significantly, but you will see about a 6-inch increased in the plant height of CL-161. CL-131 behaves more like Cocodrie in terms of response to increased nitrogen. As with any variety, Linscombe says, applying higher nitrogen rates increases your potential for plant lodging as well as sheath blight. CL-161 is coveted by millers because of its Cypress heritage and the package quality that Cypress is known for. While CL-131 has a mixed pedigree, Linscome says he believes it, too, will provide millers with a nice packaged product. One of its parents is CL-161, which imparts the Newpath tolerance. “The millers really like the appearance of 161, just as they did with Cypress, and I think they will like [CL-131], too,” Linscombe says. “It doesn’t have a lot of chalk.” Much like Cl-161, CL-131 is susceptible to sheath blight, but has a “pretty decent” blast-resistance package, Linscombe says. The newcomer also is slightly more susceptible to straighthead than CL-161. Jupiter Although Jupiter has similar plant height and mills very closely to Bengal, it doesn’t share the same disease package. Jupiter is much more resistant to blast, says Xueyan Sha, an LSU rice breeder specializing in medium-grain development. Based on two years of results from plant pathologist Chuck Rush’s trials, Jupiter also shows pretty good tolerance to panicle blight. And based on three years of results from agronomist Pat Bollich’s trials, the new medium-grain also has good tolerance to straighthead. Jupiter bested Bengal in yield potential by an average of 600 pounds per acre in 40 different tests conducted in five different states, Sha says. Contact Vicky Boyd at (209) 571-0414 or vlboyd@att.net.
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