Aug. 1 Rice Field Day Set At Stuttgart

MARY HIGHTOWER

STUTTGART, ARKANSAS

The Aug. 1 field day at the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart will feature presentations on breeding, germplasm, remote sensing and more.

The field day is presented by the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the research arm of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture, and the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center, part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agriculture Research Service.

There is no cost to attend. Participants are asked to RSVP online by July 26. The center is located at 2900 Highway 130 East in Stuttgart.

“Hosting this event in partnership with our neighbors at the Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center enables us to offer a broader picture of the research and other work being done in support of the rice industry in Arkansas and across the United States,” said Alton Johnson, director of the Rice Research and Extension Center. 

The field day begins at 7:30 a.m. with field tours and the opening of oral and poster sessions.

There will be two field tours which start at 7:30 a.m. at the Foundation Seed Facility and will repeat at 9:30 so attendees can see all stops.

Tour 1:

• Stop 1 — Rice Breeding Updates — Xueyan Sha, professor of plant rice and genetics, and Christian De Guzman, assistant professor of plant rice and genetics.

• Stop 2 — Rice Insect Management — Nick Bateman, associate professor-extension entomologist, and Gage Maris, graduate student. 

• Stop 3 — Agronomy — Jarrod Hardke, professor, rice extension agronomist.

• Stop 4 — Pathology — Camila Nicolli, assistant professor, extension pathologist; and Felipe Dalla Lana, assistant professor, rice pathologist, LSU AgCenter.

Tour 2:

• Stop 1 – Weed Control in Rice  — Jason Norsworthy – professor, weed science and Bob Scott – professor, extension weed scientist.

• Stop 2 – Germplasm Evaluation and Disease Resistance — Yulin Jia – director, Dale Bumpers National Rice Research Center, and Trevis Huggins – USDA-ARS research scientist.

• Stop 3 – Drones and Remote Sensing — Jason Davis – assistant professor, remote sensing and pesticide application specialist.

The lunch program begins at noon and speakers include Johnson, Hardke, Kevin McGilton, president and CEO of Riceland Foods; Keith Glover, president and CEO of Producers Rice Mill; Wes Ward, Arkansas’ secretary of agriculture; and Deacue Fields, head of the Division of Agriculture.

This year’s field day is sponsored by the Agricultural Council of Arkansas, AgHeritage Farm Credit Services; Arkansas Rice Growers Association; Arkansas Rice; MirTech Harvest Center, US Rice Producers Association, Belchim Crop Protection, Riceland Foods, Producers Rice Mill, USA Rice, Wintersteiger and Valley View Agri-Systems.   ∆

MARY HIGHTOWER: University of Arkansas