• By Vicky Boyd, Editor • Rice delphacid, a planthopper native to Central and South America, has been found in several South Texas counties after a three-year absence. “It’s a very, very similar infestation as three years ago,” says Dr. Mo Way, a Texas A&M entomology professor who has visited the field. The first report came from Galveston County in a ... Read More »
Texas rice farmers are seeing near-record yields of good quality grain, and many are considering a second harvest, according to Texas A&M AgriLife Research experts. Dr. Lee Tarpley, AgriLife Research crop physiologist, Beaumont, says despite a few problems for some growers, a near-record yield is expected for producers who planted their fields early in spring. Producers in the state’s rice-growing ... Read More »
Mississippi growers will produce about 20 percent more rice this year, thanks in part to additional acres planted over 2017’s total. Larry Falconer, agricultural economist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service, says early forecasts predict national yields near last year’s 7,400 pounds per acre. “National acreage is up about 20 percent. In Mississippi, the increase is slightly more at ... Read More »
Billbugs, once an occasional pest of rice that cannot survive in standing water, are increasing pressure as row-rice acreage grows. Billbugs are weevils whose larvae bore into the side of rice tillers, or stems, and deprive developing grain heads of nutrients. This leads to “blank heads,” or heads that never develop kernels. Billbugs cannot survive aquatic conditions, making row rice, ... Read More »
• By Vicky Boyd, Editor • More than 250 rice producers, consultants and allied ag industry representatives packed tour trailers during the University of Arkansas’ recent rice field day at the Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart. Departing from the Rice Expo format, which included brief research center tours as well as activities for urban residents, this year’s rice field ... Read More »
Wilmington, Delaware-based Belchim Crop Protection USA will distribute Tenchu 20SG insecticide to control rice stink bugs. The product — registered by the Environmental Protection Agency in 2013 — contains the active ingredient dinotefuran, a neonicotinoid. With more emphasis on quality, many growers are paying closer attention to controlling rice stink bugs, since they can cause pecky rice. If the defect ... Read More »
As rice begins to head in Arkansas, many producers and consultants are checking fields for rice stink bug, but their sampling technique could be costing them money. While working on an improved treatment threshold — which indicates the density of insects per square foot — for rice stink bug, Aaron Cato, a University of Arkansas doctoral entomology candidate, came to ... Read More »
Farmers heard about the benefits and challenges of growing furrow-irrigated rice at a recent Louisiana State University AgCenter row-rice field day. The event was held at the Elliot Colvin Farm near Rayville, where the LSU AgCenter has one of three research fields in a project funded by the Louisiana Rice Research Board. The other two sites are in Tensas and ... Read More »
Mississippi State University will hold its annual Rice Producer Field Day, Aug. 2, at the Delta Research and Extension Center near Stoneville beginning at 3:30 p.m. After a brief welcome at the Capps Center, trailers will depart for the field tour. Among the topics to be covered are rice agronomy, weed control, entomology, pathology and breeding. This year’s field day ... Read More »
The California Rice Experiment Station in Biggs, in partnership with the California Rice Research Foundation and the University of California, will host its annual Rice Field Day Aug. 29. The program begins at 8:30 a.m. with a general session that includes the foundation’s annual membership meeting, followed by the Rice Research Trust Report and California Rice Industry Award. Two field tours ... Read More »
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