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New Rice Varieties Coming In Pipeline
OAK RIDGE, LA.
Rice farmers attended the LSU AgCenter northeast rice field day on July 13 at the Vic Jordan farm to hear about the latest technology for growing their crop.
LSU AgCenter rice breeder Steve Linscombe said the new variety CL153 has good yield potential with fewer problems with quality, disease susceptibility and lodging than CL151. “Overall, it probably has the highest yield potential,” he said.
Work is progressing on a Clearfield Jazzman line, and one or two lines out of 13 will be selected this year for a seed increase. “Perhaps at the next field day here we will be talking about a new Clearfield Jazzman,” Linscombe said.
Demand has declined for Jazzman, developed at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station to compete with Thai Jasmine rice. “One of these days, that market is going to turn around for us,” he said.
Linscombe said new DNA marker technology will allow for screening more lines to be considered in variety development. But results from that new equipment will not produce tangible results for several years.
AgCenter weed scientist Eric Webster is working on the herbicide for the new Provisia rice, also being developed by Linscombe. It is possible Provisia could be released for seed production in 2018.
Webster said his work is showing problems when mixing some broadleaf herbicides with the Provisia herbicide, which is aimed at grasses. He said propanil and RiceBeaux interfere with the effectiveness of Provisia.
Webster is working with several new herbicides with different modes of action. He said Provisia can be mixed with one of the new herbicides, Loyant, a Dow AgroSciences product expected for release in 2017.
AgCenter entomologist Sebe Brown said fall armyworms and cutworms have been a problem in some north Louisiana rice fields.
Keith Collins, LSU AgCenter county agent in Richland Parish, said he found an unusually high number of the insect in one field. “I’ve never seen that many armyworms,” Collins said.
Brown said Dermacor seed treatment can be effective against armyworms, but Cruiser doesn’t have any activity on the pest. Cruiser is effective against grape colaspis, which can be a pest in rice planted after soybeans.
Stinkbugs are starting to show up in fields, Brown said.
AgCenter rice specialist Dustin Harrell said he is working to figure out the optimum amount of fertilizer to be used on Provisia. Enough has to be used to get the best yield without causing excessive lodging and disease.
Harrell has gotten several calls about rice lacking phosphorous. He said 100 pounds of rice uses takes one pound of phosphorous out of the soil, and most of it goes to the grain.
The second nitrogen application should be made when rice reaches the green ring growth stage, he said. Farmers have a 10-day window to apply the fertilizer. “Once you see the green ring, call the flying service,” he said
AgCenter plant pathologist Don Groth said disease pressure has been light this year. Bacterial panicle blight can be expected with hot temperatures but not much has been found yet.
Groth advised farmers to consider whether they have used disease-susceptible varieties when deciding whether to use a fungicide.
“Blanket applications of fungicide could waste money,” he said.
Rogers Leonard, LSU AgCenter associate vice president, said the LSU AgCenter may face a midyear budget cut of up to 5 percent.
The mission of some LSU AgCenter research stations will be changed because of budget reductions, and some may be closed, Leonard said. But the larger district research stations – the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station as well as the Dean Lee, Macon Ridge, Hammond and Red River research stations – will remain intact, he said. ∆
LSU AgCenter entomologist Sebe Brown talks about insect pests in rice at the
northeast rice field day on July 13 in Oak Ridge, Louisiana.
Photos by Bruce Schultz
LSU AgCenter rice breeder Steve Linscombe talks about new varieties released by the
LSU AgCenter at the northeast rice field day on July 13 in Oak Ridge, Louisiana.
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