With new Clearfield® rice varieties that challenge hybrid yields at a lower cost than hybrid seed, and the latest Provisia® variety to control weedy rice and herbicide-resistant red rice, Horizon Ag varieties are uniquely positioned to help rice producers improve performance and their bottom line in 2021.
“Rice farmers have a lot to consider when it comes to planting next season,” said Dr. Tim Walker, Horizon Ag general manager. “They need to get the best value for their inputs, in terms of price and performance, and they want to have the confidence they are using proven technologies, developed by industry leaders and extensively tested, versus ones claiming to be new that are actually just generic-type products.”
New from Horizon Ag for 2021 is CLL16, a long grain Clearfield rice variety developed by the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. CLL16 has shown excellent rough rice yields, averaging higher than Diamond in university tests. Its consistency, quality potential and blast resistance make CLL16 the complete package.
Stoddard County, Missouri, farmer Zack Tanner had CLL16 in his seed production fields in 2020 and saw the outstanding potential of the new variety.
“CLL16 is hands down my favorite Clearfield variety, ever,” said Tanner. “It had good vigor, is a medium-season variety that made a very good yield, and the milling was great as well. We didn’t see any blast in it, it didn’t have any lodging, and it does well at a low seeding rate.”
He noted that his CLL16 last season cut 204 bushels per acre, dry, without the levees being seeded. In 2019, Tanner’s CLL16 made over 240 dry bushels per acre.
“That consistency is really important to farmers,” he said. “It’s a typical Arkansas-plant type and is absolutely a good fit in Missouri and Arkansas.”
Another new Horizon Ag variety, CLL17, is an early-season, semi-dwarf long grain rice developed at the LSU Ag Center H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station. It consistently out-yielded CL153, the top-planted Louisiana variety in recent years, in multi-year trials, and it has solid ratoon crop potential and also features resistance to blast. In addition, it has proven to provide excellent milling yield and very good grain quality.
Winston Frey, who grows certified seed for Horizon Ag near Eunice, Louisiana, had 220 acres of CLL17 this past season and was very impressed by its performance.
“All in all, it was awfully good,” said Frey. “I was very pleased with it. It was only one year but we didn’t see disease in it at all. It harvested well, and the milling was very good. I’ve got no complaints with CLL17.”
In fact, he’s planning on planting more of the variety in 2021, replacing other varieties that have traditionally performed well but don’t have the total package of high yields and blast resistance.
“I think it’s a variety that has the potential to be planted on a lot of acres in the future,” said Frey. “That disease package is real important in this area and is the primary reason behind the shift to CLL17. It’s a major game changer.”
These new varieties join Provisia rice variety PVL02, the second release from Horizon Ag featuring the Provisia technology from BASF that gives farmers unmatched ability to control weedy rice and herbicide-resistant red rice.
PVL02 provides a significant step change over the first Provisia variety, PVL01, in terms of yield and overall performance. Interest in PVL02 in 2020 was high and, with a larger supply of seed available, expectations are for strong demand for Provisia rice in 2021.
“Our variety offerings have never been stronger,” said Dr. Walker. “We have Clearfield varieties that can compete with hybrids but with lower seed and input costs, and a selection of maturities with enhanced disease packages designed to meet the needs of our farmer customers throughout the South. And we have an outstanding Provisia variety in the Provisia Rice System that farmers consistently say has resulted in the cleanest rice fields in the region. There is no technology comparable to Provisia rice available for our region today when it comes to effectively controlling weedy rice and herbicide-resistant red rice.”
Just as important, with the Clearfield and Provisia technologies, farmers can rely on proven systems that provide superior weed control and can use them in a rotation to extend these valuable technologies for the years to come.