Insect Control

Due to a long dry fall, Missouri growers have leveled and prepared their fields and are ready to plant. Recent rains have saturated our soils, so early seeding has been delayed, which is OK because we still have time...

By Luis Espino — Tadpole shrimp (TPS) are starting to pop up in rice fields. A grower asked me when is the period when rice is “safe” from TPS. He is seeing very small shrimp, and seedlings are already past...

In Texas, our main rice pests are the rice water weevil, chinch bug, rice stink bug and stem borers — primarily the Mexican rice borer. We have tools to control all these pests, but we must use these insecticides...

For the 10th year, Syngenta is sponsoring its Pest Patrol program, which provides pest alerts to growers and consultants who have signed up for the text messaging service. Growers and consultants also are able to access the same information...

While front-loading expenses at the beginning of the season can be difficult to deal with, it’s a wise investment to protect your overall bottom line. Beyond seed selection, the use of seed treatments and residual herbicides are our best...

California rice industry prepares for what may become annual armyworm infestations. By Vicky Boyd Editor When Luis Espino, a University of California Cooperative Extension farm adviser, started seeing significant true armyworm populations in numerous rice fields in 2015, he thought it...

Colombian trip helps Texas A&M entomologist learn more about a rice planthopper and prepare in case it reappears in the South. By Mo Way, Fernando Correa and Maribel Cruz The rice delphacid (Tagosodes orizicolus) is a serious rice pest in much...

The Arkansas rice planting season in 2017 went at a near-record pace, lagging behind only 2012. Planted acres were expected to be 25 percent less than in 2016. The positive early season conditions had growers feeling upbeat about the...

Rice acreage may be down in Mississippi this season, but the amount of ground devoted to rice research at Mississippi State University's Stoneville research station is as high as Extension agronomist Bobby Golden can remember. This year, the U.S. Department...

Rice growers in Arkansas just got a little more help in their battle against insect pests when the University of Arkansas hired Dr. Nick Bateman as the new Extension rice entomologist. Bateman — an Arkansas native — is no stranger...

University of California Extension entomologist Larry Godfrey, a 26-year member of the UC Davis Department of Entomology and Nematology faculty, died April 18 after a battle with cancer. He was 60. Godfrey was a fixture at the California Rice Field...

Tadpole shrimp problems seem to be on the upswing in California rice fields. By Luis Espino Tadpole shrimp (TPS) is a problem that seems to be on the upswing. During our winter meetings, I conducted a clicker survey and asked attendees about...

Most rice cultivated in the Mid-South is produced using the direct-seeded, delayed-flood production method. In this system, a continuous flood is maintained from five-leaf growth stage until a few weeks prior to harvest. Currently, there is emphasis being placed on alternative...

The Environmental Protection Agency is seeking comments on a proposal that could potentially severely restrict the use of pyrethroid insecticides, including Warrior, Mustang and several others. The agency's actions are part of a registration review it is conducting on the...

TEXAS Dr. M.O. "Mo" Way Rice Research Entomologist moway@aesrg.tamu.edu It was an ugly year Rice was planted on about 165,000 acres in 2016 compared to about 130,000 in 2015, according to the Texas Rice Crop Survey. This increase was due to release of water...