Specialists
Speaking
‘My sincerest gratitude to all’ as I leave MSU DR. BOBBY R. GOLDEN MISSISSIPPI Extension Rice Specialist bgolden@drec.msstate.edu
This space is generally provided to wrapup the season and reflect on the attributes that aided production as well as the many setbacks that were encountered and eventually overcome on our way to producing the 2020 crop. I find it very difficult to collect my thoughts on what was a very different year for multiple reasons, mostly since this will be the last specialist speaking column I write as the MSU rice specialist. By the time this prints, most should know that I have stepped down to take a role with the J.R. Simplot organization. Therefore, I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to all the producers, consultants, colleagues, and my team of associates and grad students who helped build my research and Extension program and bolstered our careers along the way. When I started my graduate career, my dream job was to be a rice specialist in the Mid-South, and few can say that they achieved their dream. But I did and cherished every moment. The two most important things I will miss is the great team we built in the soil fertility/rice agronomy program, all who will be lifetime friends, and secondly the daily ride to diagnose field issues with Jason Bond. Over the past decade, we worked most every field call as a team, no matter who received it, and put forth everything we had to attempt to solve the problem. Now let’s get back to wrapping up the year. To start, this year was perhaps the weirdest I have encountered as the MSU rice specialist. COVID-19 aside, the year progressed about as smoothly as I’ve ever seen. This year’s total planted and failed acres were slightly below 165,000 acres, a marked increase from last year’s meager 114,000. Like always, Bolivar County led with the most rice acreage in the state (43,106 acres) and for the first time in several years eclipsed the 40,000 mark. Tunica County came in second with 25,960 acres. Most of the state’s rice was cultivated north of Highway 82 with rice grown in about 17 counties during 2020. Planting progress would be considered normal but occurred in chunks with most (95%) of rice planting completed by June1. Compare this to last year when planting was not finished until the third week of June with a few acres pushed into July. Much of the early planted rice struggled with wet weather, and hybrids appeared to struggle worse perhaps due to the lower seeding rate and the consistent cool, wet weather. Persistent rain did allow preemergence herbicides to remain active and in most cases, we went to flood with a pretty clean crop. Few issues were encountered during the season for the bulk of the rice acreage. For a year with a record five hurricanes, Mississippi rice producers for the most part escaped with minimal lodging and long-lasting effects. As an Extension guy, you know it’s got the potential to be a
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DECEMBER 2020
good year when your phone rarely rings, and that was the case this year. Outside of planting issues we had early and some issues with harvest aid selection, the MSU rice team probably received fewer phone calls in 2020 than we have in recent years. Talking with numerous consultants and producers throughout the year paid off with perhaps one of, if not, the best yielding crops we’ve harvested in Mississippi since I’ve been working rice. Aside from the fields still remaining to harvest as we inch into November, I feel like we may have a state record yield when all the bushels are counted. Hopefully, the quiet year with limited issues and good yields translates into optimism for rice in 2021.
Mother Nature again played a role in Texas rice DR. M.O. “MO” WAY
TEXAS Rice Research Entomologist moway@aesrg.tamu.edu The 2020 Texas rice season is coming to an end, but much of our ratoon crop is still in the field. According to the Texas Rice Crop Survey, Texas grew about 180,000 acres of rice in 2020 with almost 60% of acres ratooned. The Top 5 cultivars planted by acreage were 1. CL153; 2. XL723; 3. CLXL745; 4. Presidio; and 5. XL7301. I still don’t have accurate yield figures, but crop consultants on the west side tell me average main crop yields will surpass those in 2019, which were about 7,800 pounds per acre dry, according to the Texas Rice Crop Survey. I think ratoon crop yields may be highly variable. Hurricane Laura did not affect Texas rice too much, but Hurricane Delta occurred when the ratoon crop rice was flowering on the east side, affecting pollination and causing lodging. Some of the ratoon crop on the east side has been harvested, and preliminary yields are below expectations. Head rice yields across the Texas Rice Belt also are somewhat low due in part to adverse weather during rice flowering and maturation. On the other hand, spring temperatures and rainfall cooperated. But due to a prior wet fall and winter, a lot of land was not able to be worked until spring, which delayed planting. For the west side, Hurricane Hannah, which made landfall in south Texas in July, brought heavy rains when a lot of main crop rice was maturing. This delayed harvest, so some rice was cut too dry, leading to lower-than-desired head rice yields. There were problems with a lack of drying/storage facilities because of high yields and a lot of acres being harvested at the same time. In addition, soggy fields were rutted up from main crop harvest, making the ratoon crop less productive. As usual, Mother Nature plays a big role in Texas rice production. Sheath blight was problematic on the main crop, and narrow brown leaf spot was severe on the ratoon crop as reported by Dr. Shane Zhou. Rice water weevil populations were high, but farmers who used a seed treatment were spared. Rice stink bug densities were also high, but farmers who apRICEFARMING.COM
