WILL EUBANK \ MISSISSIPPI STATE, MISSISSIPPI
Mississippi rice acres were hit hard in 2025. Facing delays in seed requests, contending with spring rains, delaying management decisions, and the emergence of a new pest all culminated in a growing season most will want to forget. As a result, projected rice acres for 2026 will be lucky to surpass 80,000 in Mississippi. All that to say, varietal selection is paramount in influencing next year’s profitability.
In 2024 and 2025, the Mississippi Rice Agronomy program, in partnership with the Mississippi Rice Promotion Board implemented 12 variety trials which evaluated 25+ varieties across varying environments, planting dates, and cooperating farms. These trials serve as a basis for varietal selection that represent Mississippi rice-growing environments. While two years of data provides useful information, it is not enough for me to make long-term recommendations. I look forward to accumulating the data and to be able to deliver strong, year-over-year data for Mississippi growers.
Among the RiceTec hybrids, RT7302 outperformed every other hybrid included in the trials, even the long-time standard XP753. Given that 2025 was the last year that XP753 will be available on the market, a new standard will need to take its place. RT7521 also performed well, and for fields with persistent barnyardgrass pressure, RT7331MA offers the added benefit of quizalofop tolerance.
CLL18 leads Clearfield long-grain varieties, outyielding CLL16 and CLL19 by five and 14 bu/acre across both years. Of the Provisia varieties offered, PVL03 outperformed PVL05 in 2025. DG263L underperformed compared to DG563PVL, which outyielded all other Dyna-Gro entries.
Variety trials are conducted in universities across the Mid-South provide valuable insight into varietal selection, however nothing can exceed the importance of past performance on your farm. ∆
WILL EUBANK \ MISSISSIPPI STATE, MISSISSIPPI