Drs. Steve Linscombe and Johnny Saichuk, both retired Louisiana State University AgCenter researchers, were honored with distinguished service awards from the 2018 Rice Technical Working Group.
RTWG is an international group of rice experts that meets every even-numbered year to collaborate on research involving several areas, including plant breeding and genetics, rice culture, pest control, economics and marketing. They met recently in Long Beach, California.
Linscombe retired in 2017 as a rice breeder and director of the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station in Crowley. Saichuk retired in 2015 as the AgCenter state rice specialist.
Both remain active in the rice industry. Linscombe is now director of the Rice Foundation and the Rice Leadership Development program, and Saichuk works for BASF with the Provisia program.
In another award, Linscombe and current AgCenter rice specialist Dustin Harrell were part of a team that received the Distinguished Rice Research and Education Award. They were recognized for an irrigation project that focused on water management and greenhouse gases in rice cultivation.
Other members of the team are Michelle Reba, Joe Massey and Arlene Adviento-Borbe of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; Benjamin Runkle, Chris Henry and Jarrod Hardke of the University of Arkansas; Arkansas crop consultant Merle Anders; and Bruce Linquist of the University of California, Davis.
Also receiving awards were LSU master’s students Connor Webster and Matt Osterholt.
Webster won first place in oral presentation for his talk on weed control titled “Halosulfuron Applied at Reduced Rates with Quizalofop in Provisia Rice.”
Osterholt placed third in the poster presentation for his presentation titled “Interactions of RiceOne and Individual Herbicide Components Mixed with RiceBeaux.”
Both students are working under AgCenter weed scientist Eric Webster.
By Bruce Schultz, LSU AgCenter