Rice farming march 2016 by One Grower Publishing

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ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

MARCH 2016

‘Mudbug’ season

Depressed rice prices, Cajun cuisine drive crawfish acres

Take steps to slow herbicide resistance in pigweed Work progresses on Arkansas Foundation Seed Facility

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ENERGIZE YOUR RICE CROP FOR BETTER

RETURNS

Formulated With

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Always read and follow label directions. Helena and People...Products...Knowledge... are registered trademarks of Helena Holding Company. HeadSet and Goëmar are registered trademarks of Arysta LifeScience. ©2016 Helena Holding Company. HPGW0216

March 2016

www.ricefarming.com

Vol. 50, No. 4

COV ER STORY

COLUMNS From the Editor

Players likely available for future drafts

USA Rice Federation

TPP lacks assurances for access to new rice markets.

DEPA RTM EN TS Industry News

Rice business scene

Specialists Speaking

Optimize yields by starting with ‘clean’ fields. ON THE COVER: Laura Hebert pulls a crawfish trap from a former rice field near Maurice, La., that was flooded for crawfish production shortly after the first harvest in 2015. Photo by Vicky Boyd

‘Mudbug’ season Spurred by the growing popularity of Cajun cuisine and depressed rice prices, crawfish production continues to expand in the southern rice belt.

FEATUR ES

A long time in the works ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

MARCH 2016

SOLVING A MYSTERY RESEARCHERS ARE HOT ON THE TRAIL OF NEWLY NAMED SOYBEAN DISEASE

Look for the Soybean South supplement included with the Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri and Texas versions of Rice Farming.

University of Arkansas’ new Foundation Seed Processing Facility will replace an antiquated one that has likely handled its last bag of seed.

Go on the offense

SOYBEAN SOUTH MARCH 2016

GET CONNECTED Stay up-to-date with the latest from Rice Farming. Like us on Facebook: Search for RiceFarming Follow us on Twitter: @RiceFarming Follow us on Instagram: @ricefarming TWITTER: @RICEFARMING

Don’t wait — take pre-emptive steps now to slow further herbicide resistance in Palmer pigweed.

8 12 16

A ‘little hammer’ approach Use every small tool available to help keep herbicide resistance from developing or increasing in weeds.

RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

From The Editor

Players likely available for future drafts In the National Football League, statisticians, spotters and officials use flip cards to keep track of players, their numbers, their positions and starting line-ups. But it’s common for different players to start the game than were originally noted. Some changes are due to last-minute health issues, but other decisions were made to try to trip up opponents. Then there’s the fine art of play calling. Send your running back rushing up the middle repeatedly, and the other team gets wise. Teams have even been known to fake punts or field goals, with kickers or punters rushing or passing the ball to try to surprise opponents. Managing weeds in rice also takes astute play calling — you need to have varied offensive and defensive plans if you expect to win. And it’s becoming more difficult as weeds have grown resistant to not just one mode of action but in some cases several modes of action. But new draft options are on the horizon. Dow AgroSciences hopes to launch Loyant herbicide with Rinskor active in 2017 or early 2018, Environmental Protection Agency willing. Rinskor is a new arylpicolinate herbicide that belongs to Group O. It offers broad-spectrum control of several key broadleaf and grassy weeds, including herbicide-resistant barnyardgrass and rice flatsedge. BASF also hopes to launch the Provisia rice system in the next couple of years. Much like the Clearfield system, Provisia rice has been bred by the Louisiana State University AgCenter using traditional techniques to withstand over-the-top herbicide applications. In this case, it is tolerant to Provisia — or quizalofop — an ACCase or Group A herbicide not yet registered. Because it uses a different mode of action, Provisia controls weedy red rice that has become tolerant to ALS herbicides, including imazethapyr. But unlike imazethapyr used in the Clearfield system, Provisia will not have soil activity and is not designed to be used as a stand-alone. In addition, it isn’t as forgiving as imazethapyr, and coverage and timing will be key. Provisia is meant to be part of a season-long system, and product stewardship will be paramount to maintain system viability. With these new players becoming available in the draft shortly, it may be time to re-examine your flip card and mull your future starting line-ups.

Vicky

RiceFarming EDITORIAL/PRODUCTION Editor Vicky Boyd vlboyd@onegrower.com 209-505-3612 Copy Editor Amanda Huber ahuber@onegrower.com Art Director Ashley Kumpe akumpe@onegrower.com

ADMINISTRATION Publisher/Vice President Lia Guthrie 901-497-3689 lguthrie@onegrower.com Associate Publisher Carroll Smith 901-326-4443 csmith@onegrower.com Sales Manager Scott Emerson 386-462-1532 semerson@onegrower.com Circulation Manager Charlie Beek 615-377-3322 Production Manager Kathy Killingsworth 901-767-4020 kkillingsworth@onegrower.com For circulation changes or change of address, call 847-559-7578

ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC Mike Lamensdorf President/Treasurer Lia Guthrie Publisher/Vice President ASSOCIATED PUBLICATIONS — One Grower Publishing LLC also publishes COTTON FARMING, THE PEANUT GROWER, SOYBEAN SOUTH and CORN SOUTH magazines. RICE FARMING (ISSN 0194-0929) is published monthly January through May, and December, by One Grower Publishing LLC, 6515 Goodman Road, Box 360, Olive Branch, MS 38654. Periodicals postage paid at Memphis, TN. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to OMEDA COMMUNICATIONS, CUSTOMER SERVICE DEPARTMENT, P.O. BOX 1388, NORTHBROOK, IL 60065-1388. Annual subscriptions are $25.00. International rates are $55.00 Canada/Mexico, $90.00 all other countries for AirSpeeded Delivery. (Surface delivery not available due to problems in reliability.) $5.00 single copy. All statements, including product claims, are those of the person or organization making the statement or claim. The publisher does not adopt any such statement or claims as its own and any such statement or claim does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the publisher. RICE FARMING is a registered trademark of One Grower Publishing LLC, which reserves all rights granted by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in association with its registration.

Send your comments to: Editor, Rice Farming Magazine, 6515 Goodman Road, Box 360, Olive Branch, MS 38654. Call 901-767-4020 or e-mail vlboyd@onegrower.com.

4 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

One Grower Publishing, LLC 6515 Goodman Road, Box 360, Olive Branch, MS 38654 Phone: 901-767-4020

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R ice Feder ation

Update

Dissecting the TPP Complex trade deal lacks assurances for access to new rice markets and needs improvement before industry can support it.

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE

By Betsy Ward President and CEO USA Rice Federation

y all accounts, the Trans Pacific Partnership is an enormous trade deal among 12 Pacific Rim countries. Five of the world’s top 15 economies are participating, including the United States and Japan, the largest and third largest economies in the world, respectively. And the Asia-Pacific region likely accounts for 50 percent of all international trade. Well-negotiated trade deals have been a boon to our industry in the past. Witness Colombia that went from a non-market in 2011 to our third largest market last year. But what of the TPP? The United States already has free trade agreements with five of the 11 TPP countries: Australia, Canada, Mexico, Peru and Singapore. Of the six remaining, most offer little opportunity for U.S. rice exports, and one — Vietnam — is a major rice exporter and competitor. Japan represents the greatest opportunity for U.S. rice, but it is also one of the trickiest markets in which to operate. Rice is extremely sensitive in Japan, and the domestic industry wields great political influence. Therefore, our goals were modest and reasonable. We never sought the complete elimination of tariffs but rather for the more palatable “improved quantity and quality of access.” We asked U.S. negotiators to secure 160,000 metric tons of new access for U.S. rice to Japan. This would equal about 2 percent of domestic consumption in Japan and be in addition to the 682,200 metric tons of existing rice imports mandated by the World Trade Organization. Of that, 320,000 metric tons typically is allocated to the United States each year. The Japanese offered 50,000 metric tons of new access for the United States and agreed to gradually ramp that up another 20,000 metric tons within 13 years of TPP’s ratification. You may have seen the Obama administra-

6 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

tion claim it secured 100,000 metric tons of new access for U.S. rice. You may also notice that 50,000 metric tons do not equal 100,000 metric tons. And neither equal 160,000 metric tons. The administration is including approximately 48,000 metric tons of medium-grain rice Japan expects to reassign within the WTO allotment to the United States. This is not only outside the TPP, but it also cannot be put in writing. It’s a nice gesture, but without a guarantee, to me, it is merely a gesture and not one we can take to the bank. Competition for Mexico What about elsewhere? Our top market, Mexico, currently imposes a 20 percent tariff on milled rice from Asia, including our top competitor, Vietnam. Both countries are TPP signatories and have worked out their own deal to completely eliminate the tariff over 10 years. Although this will obviously improve Vietnam’s competitiveness in our top market, we don’t know its full impact; the United States still enjoys superior logistics and strong trade relationships in Mexico. It is worth noting that absent the tariff, Vietnam accounted for 28 percent of Mexico’s milled rice imports. With the tariff, that share fell to 1 percent. (Vietnam’s loss here is not all our gain. There is still stiff competition in Mexico from other origins, most notably Uruguay.) ‘Skeptical and cautious’ To me, the TPP agreement is simply deficient as is. Although this is disappointing, it is not yet fatal. Presidential politics are pushing congressional consideration of TPP to the back burner. With no official action imminent, we are using the time to try to improve U.S. rice’s position. Specifically, we are looking for assurances from the U.S. and Japanese governments about actual new access levels in Japan. We are also pressing our government to take a hard look at WTO compliance, specifically in areas of producer subsidies, for countries such as Vietnam, especially as they stand to gain by TPP. If these issues can be satisfactorily addressed, TPP may earn our support. For now, we’ll remain skeptical and cautious. RICEFARMING.COM

Potential For Good Crop In 2016 Jeff Tomlinson Tomlinson Crop Services Batesville, Ark.

Early in my career, I worked for a company that offered a product line in conjunction with consulting services. I enjoyed the scouting so much that after a few years, I formed my own company, Tomlinson Crop Services. In 2015, the weather was uncooperative during planting season, followed by a period of wet, cool conditions. Surprisingly, when harvest arrived, rice yields and quality were good, although getting there had been a struggle.

Weed And Insect Pests

Our primary weed problems are baryardgrass and ALS-resistant rice flatsedge. We typically make a burndown application prior to planting for residual control of winter weeds, grasses and broadleaves. At pre-flood, we apply one or more herbicides, such as Grasp, Grasp Xtra, Command, Facet, Bolero or RiceBeaux. At this time, we are targeting barnyardgrass, signalgrass, crabgrass, sprangletop, broadleaves and aquatics. I like to apply RebelEX post-flood because of its flexible window of opportunity to target barnyardgrass and sprangletop, which may be slightly larger than the 1- to 2-leaf stage. As far as barnyardgrass control, RebelEX is probably the best product we have out there. Resistant rice flatsedge is an expensive problem that we typically treat with Basagran plus propanil or 2,4-D, depending on the growth stage of the rice. If rice flatsedge is not resistant, then Newpath or Permit effectively controls it. Stink bugs are the predominant insect pest in rice. Most years, we spray 40 to 50 percent of our acres at least one time for stink bugs. We have to watch for stink bugs from heading to the hard dough rice stage because that’s the time for potential damage from this pest.

Off To A Good Start

As we wait for the pistol to go off at the starting line of the upcoming season, most farmers in our area are ready to go. We got a lot of post-harvest groundwork done during the dry fall. What we didn’t complete at that time, we were able to get done in February. Farmers have already made burndown applications, and applied residual herbicides and preplant fertilizer, so a high percentage of our rice acres are prepped for planting. The next fertilizer application is not due to go out until pre-flood, which, in this area, typically occurs in the latter part of April and first part of May. So far, it appears that we have the potential for a good crop this year. In my opinion, most rice farmers are very resilient and optimistic. They may not know what lies ahead, but they take the good with the bad. Hopefully, by the time we get to harvest season, there will be a profit in the crop for them.

• B.S., Agricultural Business and Economics with an emphasis on Plant Science, Arkansas State University • Has consulted independently for 20 years on rice, soybeans, corn and peanuts • Member of Arkansas Agricultural Consultants Association • Member of Arkansas Farm Bureau Federation • Married to wife, Theresa, who has been an active part of the Tomlinson Crop Services’ team, both in the office and in the field, for five years • Two sons: Justin Conyers and Jordan Tomlinson. Two daughters: Whitney Conyers and Jakki Tomlinson. Two grandsons • Jeff and Theresa enjoy hunting, road trips and spending time with the family

Recap: Potential For Good Crop In 2016

1. Our primary weed problems are barnyardgrass and ALS resistant rice flatsedge. 2. At pre-flood, we apply one or more herbicides, such as Grasp, Grasp Xtra, Command, Facet, Bolero or RiceBeaux. At this time, we are targeting barnyardgrass, signalgrass, crabgrass, sprangletop, broadleaves and aquatics. 3. I like to apply RebelEX post-flood because of its flexible window of opportunity to target barnyardgrass and sprangletop, which may be slightly larger than the 1- to 2-leaf stage. 4. A high percentage of our rice acres are prepped for planting, and it appears that we have the potential for a good crop this year.

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Long time in the works Modern University of Arkansas Foundation Seed Processing Facility under construction will replace 60-plus-year-old plant at the Rice Research and Extension Center. By Vicky Boyd Editor

8 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

PHOTOS BY VICKY BOYD

huck Wilson, director of the University of Arkansas’ Rice Research and Extension Center near Stuttgart, wants to show off the new UA Foundation Seed Processing Facility in conjunction with the annual Rice Expo. For that to happen, a lot of work will need to be completed between now and the ribbon cutting, tentatively planned for Aug. 9 — the day before the expo. Ground was broken on the roughly 25,000-square-foot facility the day before the 2015 August Rice Expo, and Wilson says July 1 is the target to have the building completed. “We got a little bit behind with the rain in November and December when we were trying to pour concrete, but they have made some of that up,” he says. The facility is being built on university property just southeast of the RREC. Unlike many construction projects where the exterior is completed first, followed by the interior, the seed plant is just the opposite. After the concrete was poured, the 20 seed tanks and seed cleaning equipment were installed before support beams were erected and roofing and exterior walls were put in place. In addition to the seed tanks and seed cleaning equipment, the facility also will have warehouse space, mechanical and electrical rooms, cold storage and office space. Two docks will handle trucks, with one designed with a pit for large vehicles. The university facility differs from commercial seed processing plants in that it will handle small volumes of numerous varieties, Wilson says. Each of the 20 tanks or bins can hold 1,300 bushels for a total of 26,000 bushels. Commercial plants, on the other hand, tend to handle large volumes of a limited number of varieties. Wilson says it’s important that the university maintains control over the seed from field through processing to ensure the best quality possible. The facility will handle foundation seed, which is the parent stock sold to seed producers for registered seed production. The following season, the registered seed is used to produce certified seed, which still has to meet a host of quality standards. The new facility has been at least 10 years in the works and will replace the aging 60-plus-year-old facility that Wilson says he hopes has processed its last bag of seed. “So it has just been a matter of primarily getting people on board,” he says. The $8.6 million facility is being funded by the Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board, the Arkansas Wheat Promotion Board, and the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board. In addi-

Chuck Wilson, director of the University of Arkansas’ Rice Research and Extension Center, is dwarfed by 1,300-bushel seed tanks.

The new Foundation Seed Processing Facility will replace the 60-plusyear-old seed plant (pictured).

tion, the Arkansas Legislature and the UA Division of Agriculture allocated funds for the project. The rice board’s $2 million contribution comes from tariff rate quota funds generated for domestic rice research via the U.S.-Colombia Trade Promotion Agreement. The funds can only be used for research and are directed by the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board. Polk Stanley Wilcox of Little Rock, Ark., served as project architect, with KJWW of Des Moines, Iowa, providing engineering designs. The facility is being built by Flintco LLC, which is owned by Aberici Corp., a St. Louis-based contractor that has built several commercial seed plants. RICEFARMING.COM

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It’s all relative Despite a depressed rice market, U.S. acreage is expected to be larger in 2016 than 2015. By Vicky Boyd Editor

NSANDEL, ENGLISH WIKIPEDIA

lthough most producers would undoubtedly agree low-ball offer thrown in from South America and it froze up the that rice prices are too low and need to improve, they Iraqis,” he says. “We don’t know what they’re going to do.” also are expected to increase rice acreage this season What concerns Brothers is it appears Iraq wants cheap product because of even worse alternatives. and may cancel the current tinder and reissue it, opening it up to “What’s driving all of this? You have the best house in a very other countries. depressed neighborhood,” says Carl Brothers, senior vice presThe United States has been able to sell some rice to Colombia ident and chief operating officer of Stuttgart, Ark.-based Rice- through a tariff-rate quota, or TRQ, which enforces a lower tariff land Foods. on a specific quota. Word has it that Colombia is possibly short For the market to improve, he says the United States will need of rice and is looking at Thailand. But Brothers says so far, he to increase exports, which could be a challenge based on the hasn’t seen any Thai rice entering into Colombia, although other world rice market. South American countries are Citing data from Imforma shipping in rice. Economics IEG of Memphis, “And hopefully, there will be Tenn., Brothers outlined the cursome U.S. rice,” he says. rent supply and demand situation Earlier in the marketing year, for attendees of a crop outlook many within the industry were session during the recent Midhopeful that China would be a South Farm and Gin Show in new market for U.S. rice. Although a phytosanitary agreeMemphis. ment has been reached, it has not Overall rice acreage for 2016 yet been signed, Brothers says, is predicted to be 2.765 million, noting the Chinese market is a up 6 percent from 2015. Producers in the five Mid-South rice sensitive subject. states are expected to increase The United States has lost some export markets to other countries China raises about one-third acreage, whereas those in Cal- that have lower production costs and have improved grain quality. of the world’s rice. Should a deal ifornia are expected to reduce come to fruition, it would likely acreage to 395,000, down from 420,000 in 2015. The decrease is be bagged product shipped in containers. largely due to the state’s continuing drought. “I think we can carve out a niche in there mostly about food This season, Arkansas is expected to plant 1.4 million acres; safety, at least that’s what our intentions are,” Brothers says. Louisiana, 450,000 acres; Mississippi, 170,000 acres; Missouri, To ship rice into China, marketers will have to meet what he 190,000 acres; and Texas, 160,000 acres. calls an “onerous” protocol that requires warehouse insect trapUsing U.S. Department of Agriculture prices, Brothers says ping for at least 30 days before shipments. Chinese officials also rice profits average about $200 per acre compared with $106 per could visit and verify results. Although many growers pin hopes on Cuba, Brothers says he acre for corn and $95 per acre for soybeans. Although carry-out at the end of the 2015-16 marketing year can’t predict when U.S. rice exports to that Caribbean country on Aug. 1 is expected to be 13 to 16 percent less than the previ- might happen. ous marketing year, prices also are projected to be lower. Cuba already imports rice from Vietnam but doesn’t have the U.S. rice exports started on a high note and were up 25 to 27 funds to pay for it. percent in December. But sales of U.S. rice stagnated after the “Vietnam gives them terms — we can’t give them terms,” he holidays, Brothers says. says. Hopes were buoyed in February by a U.S.-only tinder issued Another Caribbean country, Haiti, is a bright spot for U.S. by Iraq for 90,000 metric tons of long-grain rice. But he says that long-grain rice exports. sale remains up in the air. “The people are so poor, but they like U.S. rice and they’re “We thought we were going to sell rice to Iraq, but we had a willing to pay for it,” Brothers says.

10 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

RICEFARMING.COM

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Go on the offense Don’t wait — take pre-emptive steps now to slow PPO herbicide resistance from developing in Palmer pigweed. By Vicky Boyd Editor

12 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

JOSEPH LAFOREST, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA; BUGWOOD.ORG

ob Scott, a University of Arkansas Extension weed scientist, is on a crusade before planting season starts to educate producers about herbicide resistance management and the growing perils of PPO-resistant Palmer pigweed. “Every talk I give is on resistance management,” says Scott, who has been making the rounds at winter grower meetings throughout Arkansas. “With PPO resistance developing, it’s starting to back us into a corner in terms of pigweed control.” Palmer pigweed, also called Palmer amaranth, is not just the top weed concern of soybean producers — it fills the top five weed slots, Scott says. “Palmer pigweed is such a competitive and prolific weed — it’s the driver weed,” he says. “If you don’t control Palmer pigweed, no other weeds matter, that’s what we’re saying.” It also is one of the top weeds in rice fields, according to Jason Bond, a Mississippi State University Extension/research weed scientist. (See Specialist Speaking, page 20.) Joe Mencer, a rice, soybean, corn and cotton producer near Lake Village, Ark., has been battling glyphosate-resistant Palmer pigweed since 2004. “All of this strong river dirt is just the type of ground that pigweed loves,” he says. Mencer began planting LibertyLink cotton that year and switched to Halo soybeans with the LibertyLink trait in 2009. He eventually moved to HBK Glytol beans with the stacked glyphosate- and glufosinate-tolerance traits. At the same time, Mencer carefully manages crop rotations, frequently planting corn after cotton to bring in different modes of action. He also rotates modes

Palmer amaranth plants can produce 100,000-500,000 seeds in a single season. At least with the glyphosate resistance trait, it is spread by pollen. So herbicide-sensitive Palmer pigweed plants can produce herbicide-resistant seeds if they received pollen carrying the resistance trait.

of action and applies a residual herbicide, even with LibertyLink crops. “We’ve been fighting this for about 12 years, and we’ve learned a lot,” he says. “We don’t run chemistries, like LibertyLink, back to back.” Mencer says that by combining a residual herbicide, and diligent herbicide and crop rotations, he’s been able to reduce glyphosate-resistant pigweed by more than 90 percent. “It’s good enough now — there will always be escapes, but you can go out and get those,” he says. “If you catch them at the right time, you can get all of them out.” Abbott Myers, who farms rice, corn and beans near Tunica Miss., says he was fortunate to not have a real Palmer pigweed resistance problem until last season. As a result, he says he used Boundary (S-metolachlor and metribuzin) on much of his soybean ground in 2015. This season, Myers says he plans to

use Fierce on some fields and stick with Roundup Ready beans. He’ll also continue his practice of spraying the weedy edges of bean fields with 2,4-D and rotating crops. “Behind my corn and behind my rice, I don’t have a pigweed problem,” he says. Myers says resistant pigweed is no different than other weed problems he’s faced in the more than 40 years he’s been farming. “The pigweed is going to be a challenge, but everything changes,” he says. “Before we had Treflan, I remember those days when we had to get over everything in a week cultivating.” History repeats The first U.S. case of glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth was confirmed in Georgia by University of Georgia Extension agronomist Stanley Culpepper and colleagues in 2005. It is now widespread throughout the RICEFARMING.COM

South and Mid-South and is spreading. And Scott says he sees PPO resistance in Palmer pigweed developing much as it did with glyphosate resistance. Palmer amaranth biotypes resistant to PPO herbicides have been found in 15 Arkansas counties as well as five counties in northern Mississippi, five in west Tennessee and one in Kentucky, he says. Known technically as protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors, Group 14 PPO herbicides include Valor, Aim, Flexstar and Blazer. Growers who suspect PPO resistance should rotate out of soybeans for a season into corn or rice — crops where they can use other modes of action not available in soybeans, Scott says. If crop rotation doesn’t fit, he recommends switching to LibertyLink beans, which are genetically engineered to tolerate glufosinate herbicide over the top. Glufosinate — marketed as Liberty — belongs to Group 10, whereas glyphosate is a Group 9. As glyphosate resistance has grown, Scott says he’s seen more growers move to LibertyLink beans. At one time, about 95 percent of all Arkansas soybean acreage was planted to Roundup Ready. Last season, Roundup Ready had decreased to about 65 percent, with about 20 to 25 percent LibertyLink. The remainder were conventional varieties as growers with glyphosate resistance problems saw no advantage in paying the tech fees tied to Roundup Ready, he says. That, too, may have led in some cases to an over-reliance on the PPO chemistries. When it comes to herbicides, Scott recommends using three different “effective” modes of action per season. He stresses the herbicides still must effectively control Palmer pigweed, but that leaves growers few options. Generally, most of the Palmer pigweed in Arkansas is resistant to ALS-inhibitors or Group 2 chemistries, which include Classic and Scepter. Growers also have a 50-50 chance of having Palmer pigweed resistant to Prowl or Treflan — both Group 3 — in their fields, Scott says. This season he expects a lot of Group 15 herbicides, including Boundary, Dual and Warrant, to go out pre-emerge behind a soybean planter. New products on the horizon Although Monsanto launched Roundup Ready 2 Xtend soybeans resistant Twitter: @RiceFarming

Don’t forget Palmer pigweed found on ditch banks, field borders or levees. Treating it repeatedly with glyphosate can promote resistance, so rotate weed control methods.

to glyphosate and dicamba this season, dicamba is not labeled for over-the-top use. Growers are limited to only using glyphosate this season. Monsanto has developed a dicamba formulation with much lower volatility, but that product is not yet registered. “We want to make sure that growers understand that it is illegal to put dicamba over the top of those beans,” Scott stresses. “The dicamba (products) that are available are not low-volatility formulations and don’t have the benefit of that low-volatility technology. Growers will not be able to make off-labeled applications, and if they did, they will probably cup their neighbor’s soybeans.” Even when the herbicide becomes available, Scott warns about relying too heavily on just one chemical class. In laboratory studies, Jason Norsworthy, a University of Arkansas weed scientist, was able to select for resistance after exposing three generations of susceptible Palmer pigweed to sub-lethal dicamba doses. Dicamba resistance has not been seen in Palmer pigweed in the field, but Scott says the study demonstrates the potential for problems to develop. Although the court earlier this year blocked the Environmental Protection Agency’s attempt to vacate a registration of Enlist Duo herbicide from Dow AgroSciences, Enlist soybeans will not be commercially available this season to

allow for seed expansion. Enlist Duo herbicide contains a premix of glyphosate and a formulation of 2,4-D choline with the proprietary Colex-D drift-control technology. Enlist soybeans have been developed to tolerate both chemistries. Bayer CropSciences and Syngenta Crop Protection are developing soybeans tolerant to HPPD herbicides. A collaboration between MS Technologies and Bayer, Balance GT Soybeans will tolerate Balance Flexx and glyphosate herbicides. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Food and Drug Administration approved the HPPD-tolerance trait in 2013, but the EPA has yet to register the paired herbicide, which will be marketed as Balance Bean. Eventually, Bayer plans a triple-stacked bean that also includes glufosinate tolerance. Syngenta’s MGI soybeans will tolerate Callisto, Balance and glufosinate herbicides. Balance Flexx and Callisto, which contain the active ingredients isoxaflutole and mesotrione, respectively, belong to Group 27 — a mode of action currently not used in soybeans. Where Scott says he sees real benefit is when companies launch soybeans with HPPD traits stacked with other herbicide-tolerant traits. “You’ll have a new mode of action pre, followed by a new mode of action post, but the HPPD (beans) are not talked about as much as the Enlist and Xtend,” he says. RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

‘Mudbug’ season Spurred by the growing popularity of Cajun cuisine and depressed rice prices, crawﬁsh production continues to expand in southern rice belt. By Vicky Boyd Editor

aura Hebert is following in the footsteps of her father, Dane Hebert, a rice, soybean and crawfish producer near Maurice, La. At 24 years old, Laura has taken over much of the daily harvest of the family’s 150 acres or so of last season’s rice fields that were flooded after harvest to create crawfish ponds. When Dane started rotating crawfish with rice about 30 years ago, it was to help with cash flow and produce income in the off season. Nowadays with low rice prices, he says crawfish production is a necessity. “Right here we have our own winter job — crawfish — which supplements our income and diversifies our bottom line,” Dane says. The Herberts aren’t alone. In 2014, the last year for which figures are available, Louisiana had about 225,000 acres in crawfish production, says W. Ray McClain, a Louisiana State University AgCenter aquaculture professor at the H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station in Crowley. That compares with about 185,000 acres in 2013. Production figures for 2015 are due out shortly, and McClain

14 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

says they are expected to be up from 2014. How much acreage is devoted to crawfish this season won’t be released until early 2017, but he says, “The consensus is there’s substantially more acreage this year — how much more would be just speculation.” The bulk of the state’s production still comes from rice fields rotated with crawfish. A smaller portion is produced in permanent ponds devoted strictly to crawfish. McClain attributed much of the acreage increase to depressed rice prices and a lack of rotational alternatives. “Here in south Louisiana, soybeans are not really a good option weatherwise,” he says. “Yields are pretty iffy, depending on whether it’s a dry year or a rainy year. So crawfish seems to be what a lot of these farmers are turning to to supplement their rice operations.” And how the increased acreage will affect prices remains to be seen. “The ones who are in the know say with the increases in acreage, you might see decreases in prices, but that’s like in any other commodity,” Dane says. RICEFARMING.COM

The increasing popularity of crawfish, spurred partly by more interest in Cajun cuisine, also seems to be driving production. In addition, distributors have expanded infrastructure to meet the growing demand from as far away as Arkansas, Texas, Memphis and even Atlanta. How the downturn in the oil industry will affect demand and prices remains to be seen, McClain says. Season off to early start The 2015-16 season started early, spurred by warm, wet weather throughout the fall. Some producers offered crawfish beginning at Thanksgiving. But the Heberts say they focus on quality and like to wait to give the crustaceans more time to grow. Larger crawfish can net the producer an additional 50 cents to $1 per pound in most markets. “We manage for quality and not so much quantity,” Dane says. “We usually have nice size later in the year, which usually gives us a better price.” But even he and Laura started fishing earlier this season shortly

year, Dane selects about 150 to 200 acres of rice fields that will be moved into crustaceans in the fall. Just before he drains the rice fields for harvest in mid-summer, he’ll plant crawfish either harvested from his own ponds or obtained from wild stock. Crawfish, also nicknamed mudbugs, burrow into the mud to escape the heat and reproduce. During the 2015 season, Dane didn’t harvest a ratoon, or second crop, on those selected fields, instead rolling the rice stubble after the first cutting. He reinforced the levees to handle the higher 12- to 14-inch flood required for crawfish, and then flooded the fields shortly afterward. Once the water is applied, crawfish will emerge and begin feeding on decomposing plant material, small insects and other organic matter. If water temperatures get too cold, the cold-blooded crustaceans temporarily become sluggish, quit feeding and won’t take the bait in traps. Fields that were in crawfish over the winter and spring will remain fallow until the following season, when they’ll be planted to a field crop.

(Left) Dane Hebert shows off the catch from one of numerous traps in a flooded rice field. The yields pick up as the season goes on. (Right) Laura Hebert is helped by her cousin, Chris Prunty, during morning fishing.

after New Year’s Day. During most seasons, they won’t start until February or March. “People who buy live from me keep asking, ‘what’s the sizing? Are you going to get good size this year?’” Laura said in mid-January. “For this time of year, they’re really pretty good size.” Like other commodities, the success of the overall crawfish season depends on weather. If it becomes unseasonably warm in May and June, the crawfish will burrow into the mud, ending the season. But if temperatures remain mild, Dane says the season could run through June. As the season picked up steam in January and more volume hit the market, prices dropped from about $3 per pound to the $2-$2.50 range. More than most other commodities, prices for crawfish are dominated by local and regional markets and related supply and demand, McClain says. The Heberts sell through a local broker, but they also will sell directly to select restaurants as their volume increases in early spring. Adding crawfish to the rotation The Heberts use crawfish as part of their crop rotation. Every Twitter: @RiceFarming

Neither rain nor storm nor dark of night Early every morning, rain or shine, Laura runs half the traps in their ponds. Dane says they alternate to allow the smaller crawfish to escape through the mesh in the funnel-shaped traps and continue to grow. With nearly robotic precision, Laura pulls one trap and puts down an already baited trap in its place without stopping. As she steers the small flat-bottomed boat — known as a pirogue — toward the next trap, she dumps the crawfish and old bait onto a sorting table. With another motion, she grabs a piece of cut porgy bait fish, placing it in the trap as she approaches the next one. By lunch, Laura has finished fishing and has delivered a handful of mesh bags, each containing 40-45 pounds of crawfish, to the broker. The goal is to get them to customers as soon as possible to minimize mortality. After only a couple of days in the winter, and about five days later in the season, crawfish begin to die. Louisiana producers average about 600 pounds of crawfish per acre annually, McClain says, although a few exceptional ponds will top more than 1,000 pounds per acre. RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

To minimize herbicide resistance, as has happened with this redstem, match the proper herbicide to the weed, apply materials at the proper rate and time, and rotate modes of action.

A ‘little hammer’ approach Use every small tool available to keep herbicide resistance from developing or increasing in weeds. By Vicky Boyd Editor

n increasing number of weeds in California rice are becoming resistant to herbicides, prompting resistance management to become an even stronger mantra. In fact, the state’s rice growers have ranked weeds as either their No. 1 or No. 2 pest, says Kassim Al-Khatib, University of California Cooperative Extension weed specialist and director of the statewide UC Integrated Pest Management program. For Colusa County rice producer George Tibbitts, weed control has deﬁnitely grown more complicated with the ad-

16 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

vent of resistant biotypes. He used to apply one product early in the season, followed by another product later on. But that has changed. “It’s going to take three of the major materials, and I’m just trying to be smart about how and when to apply them,” Tibbitts says. “I’m also aware of rotating them every year.” Rotating different modes of action, applying materials at the proper timing and not shaving rates are key to helping prolong the usefulness of available herbicides, says Rick Geddes, Dow AgroSciences market development specialist. During Dow’s recent winter grower meetings, Geddes and RICEFARMING.COM

representatives from FMC Corp. and RiceCo Inc. stressed the need to manage for weed resistance. Al-Khatib echoes those sentiments, adding that new modes of action are slow to come to the rice market. “This is not corn, where we have 40 different herbicides or in wheat, where we have 40 different herbicides available,” he says. At UC’s winter rice meetings, Al-Khatib described how weed resistance continues to mount in California, with at least 11 rice weed biotypes no longer controlled by one or more modes of action. That doesn’t necessarily mean that an herbicide is ineffective throughout the rice-production area. It may just mean that pockets of a speciﬁc weed have grown resistant to a particular mode of action. “If you don’t have resistance in your ﬁeld and you have a good PCA (pest control adviser), match the right herbicide to the weed, use the right timing and rate, and I think you can get good weed control in rice,” he says. “But the problem arises because we do have a lot of weed resistance right now. We have resistance to all of the herbicides we have in rice except for three at this point.”

Weed resistance management tips Kassim Al-Khatib, University of California Cooperative Extension weed specialist and director of the statewide UC Integrated Pest Management Program, provides these tips for weed resistance management. • Use integrated weed management practices as much as possible • Be aggressive; don’t reduce rates • Apply herbicides to young, actively growing weeds • Use multiple modes of action • Do not get locked into one herbicide program • Consider crop rotation when it makes sense

jumped to 61. In the past, the university tested samples for only the herbicide that did not appear to work in the ﬁeld. Beginning with the 2015 season, UC tested for all herbicides labeled to control the weed and sent a report to the grower or PCA listing the ones to which the submitted weed was resistant. That way, he or she could make more informed weed-control choices. “Resistance is a serious issue, and it’s getting worse over time,” Al-Khatib says. “Use the little hammer approach. Any small tool you can use to manage speciﬁc weeds you need to put in your program.” For weed herbicide susceptibility charts and instructions on how to submit weed seed samples, visit UC’s new rice website, http://rice.ucanr.edu/Guidelines/Weeds/.

Free testing program Because different weed populations exhibit varying levels of susceptibility, the university began a free testing program in 2011 to help conﬁ rm resistance. Since then, growers and PCAs have been invited to submit seeds of weeds that weren’t controlled by herbicides applied following label instructions. In 2011, the lab received 31 samples. By 2015, submissions had

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PURDUE UNIVERSITY

Industry News

Yang Zhao, a research assistant in horticulture, was lead author on a paper that examined engineering rice plants to withstand drought.

Rice engineered with higher protein boosts drought tolerance

UNIVERSITY OF DELAWARE

UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA

Purdue University researchers found that engineering plants to produce high levels of the PYL9 protein dramatically boosted drought tolerance in rice and Arabidopsis, a member of the mustard family frequently used as a model in genetic studies. Under severe drought conditions, the transgenic plants triggered death of old leaves to conserve resources for seeds and buds. The researchers altered the plants to overexpress PYL9, which enabled them to better withstand severe drought stress by causing older leaves to yellow sooner compared to unaltered plants. PYL9 transgenic rice had a 50 percent survival rate after a two-week drought compared with 10 percent survival of wildtype rice. Yang Zhao, a research assistant in horticulture, was lead author on the research paper that appeared in the February edition of “Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.”

to study uptake of organic forms of arsenic in rice. The inorganic forms of arsenic, such as arsenite and arsenate, have an arsenic atom surrounded by oxygen atoms while the organic forms replace one or more of the oxygen atom(s) with a methyl group. “It’s similar to mercury and methyl mercury,” Limmer says. “You might remember in high school playing with liquid mercury metal. Mercury metal isn’t all that dangerous, but the methylated form is quite a bit more dangerous. A small amount of methyl mercury would easily be absorbed through your skin, potentially with lethal effects.” Arsenic is a bit different, with the inorganic forms significantly more toxic than the organic forms. So it’s important to know what form is present, he says. Currently, most arsenic is reported as a total amount and isn’t broken down as to the form. Using the rice paddies at the college’s Rice Investigation, Communication and Education Facility, as well as growing plants in a greenhouse, Limmer will investigate the role silicon plays. The chemical element has already been studied to see if it can slow the uptake of inorganic forms of arsenic into the rice. But he wants to determine whether it also can slow the uptake of organic forms of arsenic that may use some of the same transporters.

University of Delaware researcher Matt Limmer received a U.S. Department of Agriculture grant to study how rice plants take up different arsenic forms.

USDA grant helps fund rice-arsenic study Matt Limmer, a University of Delaware post-doctoral researcher in environmental engineering, has a received a twoyear U.S. Department of Agriculture Post-Doctoral Fellowship

18 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

Ron Cherry, an entomology and nematology professor, checks the flood in rice research plots.

A shallow flood helps control rice water weevils University of Florida scientists at the Everglades Research and Education Center in Belle Glade have found that shallow flooding of rice fields can help reduce rice water weevil populations during the growing season. Previous studies on the effect of flood depth on the pest had been inconsistent. As they feed, rice water weevils create translucent scars on rice leaves. Those scars predict future larval infestations of the roots, which damage the rice plant. RICEFARMING.COM

INDUSTRY NEWS On April 14, 2014, Ron Cherry, a professor of entomology and nematology, and his group planted eight plots, half with the Taggert variety and half with Cheniere. All plots were flooded on May 5; four were continuously flooded at a depth of 15 centimeters (nearly 6 inches) and four at a depth of 5 centimeters (nearly 2 inches). Leaf scar samples from randomly selected plants were then taken every two weeks from May 7 to June 17. The results showed significantly fewer weevil leaf scars in the shallow flood than in the deep flood.

came through,” AgCenter rice breeder Steve Linscombe told rice growers at a February Vermilion Parish meeting. The next step will be a larger plant run of the variety after it is harvested this year. CL 272 has better kernel quality than the medium-grain variety, Jupiter, which tends to have more chalk — an opaque area in the rice grain. High chalk levels can cause appearance issues and cook slightly differently. CL 272 also has better grain appearance and quality than its predecessor, CL 271.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

Closed liquid transfer system

A free online video provides step-by-step instructions on how to use the Pipe Planner tool to size and place holes or gates in collapsible poly irrigation tubing.

Envelope please: The award goes to the Pipe Planner video

Greenleaf Technologies of Covington, La., recently introduced the easyFlow Closed Transfer System to the U.S. market. The easy-to-operate system allows for transfer of liquid crop inputs from sealed or non-sealed small containers without exposing the mixer. Users can transfer all or part of the container to the mixing tank. In addition, the system will triple rinse the containers. It is designed to meet both Environmental Protection Agency and OccuVVKD0216 RICE FARMING FEB AD 022216-RESIZED.pdf 1 2/22/16 pational Safety and Health Administration worker protection rules.

The video, “Pipe Planner: All You Need to Know,” may never win an Oscar, but it recently earned the American Society of Agronomy 2015 Extension and Education Community Award for Video. The two-hour video talks about the beneﬁts of using collapsible poly irrigation tubing to water crops and then walks users through the Web-based computerized hole selection tool known as Pipe Planner. Chris Henry, an assistant professor at the University of Arkansas’ Rice Research and Extension Center, helped produce the video. He shared the award with Joe Massey of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Agricultural Research Service in Jonesboro, Chris DeClerk of Delta Plastics in Little Rock and Zac Ashmore of Mississippi State University Ag Communications. Mike Hamilton, a UA Extension irrigation instructor and Phil Tacker, a retired irrigation engineer, also were involved. Funding for the project came from the Mississippi Soybean Promotion Board and Arkansas Soybean Promotion Board. The video can be viewed on YouTube at https://youtu.be/ 36vIpjutPgM. C

CMY

LSU medium-grain may Snap, Krackle, Pop for Kellogg’s Cereal maker Kellogg’s continues to test the Clearfield CL 272 medium-grain variety released by the Louisiana State University’s AgCenter in 2015. Earlier this year, the Battle Creek, Mich.-based company ran a 1,000-pound sample through its cereal puffing process. The Kellogg’s official “was extremely impressed with how it TWITTER: @RICEFARMING

RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

10:07 AM

Specialists Speaking

SWSS survey highlights weed trends DR. JASON BOND

MISSISSIPPI Extension/Research Weed Scientist jbond@drec.msstate.edu Every four years, the Southern Weed Science Society conducts a survey of the most common and troublesome weeds of different crops across the South. Information for the surveys is provided by research/Extension weed scientists from each state. Examination of these surveys over time provides a good indication of how the weed spectrum within each crop and state is evolving. Barnyardgrass was the most common and troublesome weed of Mississippi rice in all surveys since 2000. Other weeds on the SWSS surveys of Mississippi rice in 2000 and 2004 were fairly predictable and included red rice, hemp sesbania, yellow nutsedge, ducksalad and a variety of morningglory species. Amaranthus, or pigweed, species were not listed among the top 10 most common or troublesome weeds of Mississippi rice in 2000 or 2004. But by the mid-2000s, pigweed, especially Palmer amaranth, was rapidly becoming the most problematic weed for traditional Mississippi row crops. “Pigweed” was listed as the fourth most common and troublesome weed of Mississippi rice in the 2008 SWSS weed survey, but a species was not specified. By 2012, Palmer amaranth was

Spray smart to save herbicide costs DR. JARROD HARDKE

ARKANSAS Asst. Professor/Rice Extension Agronomist University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service jhardke@uaex.edu Timely application and proper activation of pre-emergence herbicides may be the key to profitability in rice production in 2016. Resistance issues are becoming more prominent, and the utility of good preemergence herbicide activity will become even more valuable. Cool and wet early season conditions as in recent years make this job much easier, but we have to be committed to activating it with a flush if we don’t catch a rainfall. Overlapping residual herbicides may be the most cost efficient and effective approach to weed control in rice. You can probably make the same argument in other crops, but in rice

20 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

second only to barnyardgrass in the lists of most common and troublesome weeds of Mississippi rice, and it retained that position in the 2016 survey. Although not listed among the most common weeds, Texasweed and spreading dayflower were added to the list in the 2008 survey. Problems with volunteer Roundup Ready soybeans were also noted in the late 2000s. Amazon sprangletop was listed in all surveys since 2000 — it has held the second or third slot in surveys of troublesome weeds of Mississippi rice since 2008. More recently, rice flatsedge was added to both lists in the 2016 survey. Most rice flatsedge in Mississippi is resistant to acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicides. The addition of difficult-to-control broadleaf weeds, such as Texasweed and spreading dayflower, along with increasing problems with Amazon sprangletop and ALS-resistant rice flatsedge, are the result of the Clearfield system. The introduction of effective residual herbicides, such as quinclorac and Command in the 1990s, followed by commercialization of the Clearfield technology in the early 2000s, changed herbicide programs in southern U.S. rice. And these advancements were responsible for a reduction in the total pounds of herbicides applied to rice. The Provisia rice technology will be launched within the next two to three years. Provisia herbicide represents a different mode of action from Newpath. The control spectrum, tankmixing options and residual control will be somewhat different in Provisia compared with Clearfield rice. If adoption of Provisia is widespread, changes in the weed spectrum are likely after a few years. It is the responsibility of weed scientists, manufacturers, consultants, distributors and growers to acknowledge this and attempt to keep pace with Mother Nature in order to maintain productivity. we get the benefit of a later flood to help maintain control after these applications. Spray a residual preemergence herbicide (include postemergence herbicide if needed) at planting. Hopefully, rainfall will activate, but flush if one isn’t received in a few days. No specific length of residual should be overly depended on — scout regularly and attempt to overlap another residual herbicide as soon as there is any sign that activity may be breaking. If planting in early season, cool conditions, the focus should be on controlling cool-season grasses and sedges. If planting later in the season when air and soil temperatures are warmer, summer grasses and broadleaf weeds, such as pigweed, become of greater concern. Choose your herbicide program based on these considerations and your previous knowledge of weed pressure from specific weed species in each field. Blanket herbicide applications to large areas will likely not be getting your money’s worth in a large number of those fields. At times, we’ve been able to get to flood with only a single herbicide application — using multiple modes of action that covered our weed spectrum. Rainfall kept the herbicides active and no weeds had emerged once it was time to fertilize and flood. While these situations are the exceptions rather than the rule, they provide an example of what we should strive for in weed control in rice production. RICEFARMING.COM

Specialists Speaking DR. LUIS ESPINO, UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

Control weeds early to minimize yield loss DR. LUIS ESPINO

CALIFORNIA UCCE Rice Farming Systems Adviser laespino@ucanr.edu In California’s water-seeded rice system, early weed control is fundamental to maintain good yields. For example, when effective watergrass control is implemented during the first 15 days after seeding, yields won’t be affected. Delaying watergrass control to 30 days after seeding can reduce rice yields by 15 percent, and delaying control further to 45 days after seeding can reduce yields by 50 percent. When designing your weed-control program, keep in mind that it is the early application that is preventing yield losses. Late-season weed control is needed to control escapes and reduce weed seed bank, and aid harvest. When herbicide resistance is not an issue, good weed control can be achieved with simple herbicide programs. For example, an early application of Granite GR followed by a late-season application of propanil can give excellent control of watergrass, sedges and broadleaves. But if you’re dealing with ALS-resistant watergrass and propanil-resistant sedges, this program would be a failure. In this case, a more appropriate program may consist of a tankmix application of Granite GR and Shark at the 2.5-leaf rice stage, followed by a tankmix application of Abolish and Regiment at the five-leaf stage of rice. When facing herbicide-resistant weeds, the complexity and cost of herbicide programs escalates fairly quickly. To delay the establishment of herbicide-resistant weeds in your field, remember these guidelines: • Use maximum label rates, • Use multiple modes of action, • Do not repeat programs several years in a row, • Make sure to apply herbicides at the correct timing and • Consider crop rotation if possible. When herbicide resistance is a problem, rotating modes of action can be challenging. Fortunately, a new herbicide — Butte — is on the horizon to manage propanil-resistant sedges. The active ingredient in this herbicide, benzobicyclon, is new to California rice and should be a valuable tool to manage resistance. If you suspect herbicide resistance, collect seeds and have them screened by the UCCE Weed Project. It’s a free service that not only will confirm the resistance issue but also will inform you of herbicide alternatives that could be used against the resistant weed. For more information on this service, visit the UC Rice On-line at http://rice.ucanr.edu/Resistant_Weed_Seed_Testing/. Another tool to help design your herbicide program is the “2016 California Rice Weed Herbicide Susceptibility Chart.” This chart identifies herbicides by modes of action and classifies them according to their efficacy against the main rice weeds. Twitter: @RiceFarming

Delaying watergrass control to 45 days after seeding can reduce rice yields by 50 percent.

The chart also shows which weeds have been identified as resistant to the herbicides. You can download the susceptibility chart from the weeds section of the UC Rice On-line, http://rice.ucanr. edu/Guidelines/Weeds/.

Eliminate weed competition early DUSTIN HARRELL

LOUISIANA Extension Rice Specialist dharrell@agcenter.lsu.edu Competition between rice and weeds for space, sunlight and soil nutrients can cause huge losses in rice yield at the end of the year. This is especially true in early season rice. Keeping the competition (weeds) out of the picture is the goal of all weed control strategies. You should always start weed free, and try and stay weed free throughout the season to maximize yield in rice. Starting weed free begins with the burndown herbicide application in our falland spring-stale seedbed management systems. There are several herbicide choices or herbicide combinations that are available for burndown applications. Many, such as 2,4-D, Valor and Leadoff, have plant-back restrictions that you should be mindful of. Others, such as glyphosate, do not. A complete list of common burndown herbicides and plant-back restrictions was put together by Dr. Eric Webster and can be found in the Rice Varieties and Management Tips publication (www.lsuagcenter.com). Beginning weed free in conventional tillage and water-seeded systems is accomplished by mechanically eliminating the weed competition. Cold hard steel has the widest weed spectrum of all the post-emergence herbicides. Once the weed competition is eliminated, keep the weeds from germinating by using a pre-emergence herbicide. Remember, most pre-emergence herbicides will need water to activate RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

them, so if the soil is not moist or if you do not receive a rainfall event after application, you will need to flush irrigate the field. Although flushing a field can be costly, failing to activate a pre-emergence herbicide will result in wasting the herbicide application and result in more money spent in the long run for weed control. Pre-emergence herbicides only last a few weeks, so it is always good to overlap pre-emergence herbicides in your weed-control program if possible. If you are using Clearfield technology, Newpath or Clearpath would be the pre-emergence herbicides of choice while in non-Clearfield fields, Bolero, Command, Facet, League or Sharpen may be the choice for you. Be sure to tankmix post emergence herbicides to control any weeds that did germinate. Scouting your fields and identifying the weed spectrum that is present is important. If you have trouble identifying small emerged weeds, try using the “Schematic Diagram for Seedling Weeds in Rice,” an AgCenter publication put together several years ago by Dr. Eric Webster. This publication is available on-line (www.lsuagcenter.com), as well as in a water-resistant printed form at your local parish Extension office. I personally keep this publication in my truck and use it often. Once the weed spectrum is identified, I like to use Table 9 in the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Varieties and Management Tips publication to determine the best herbicides to use to get the job done in a particular situation. In a drill-seeded, delayed flood production system, a pre-flood herbicide application is often needed to clean up any weeds present. Similar to the last herbicide application, identification of the weed spectrum is key. In many cases, this will be the last herbicide application; however, post-flood herbicide applications are sometimes needed to control escapes. Post-flood applications of some herbicides are expensive, so it is imperative to stay on top of early season weed control.

Monitor rice crop for N deficiency DR. M.O. “MO” WAY & TONI SPENCER TEXAS

Proper fertility management is essential to successful main and ratoon crop production. In addition, the environment — atmosphere, water and soil — can be affected adversely by improper and careless fertility management. I am no expert on N, P, K (nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium) and micro-nutrient management, so I am relying on help from Toni Spencer, general manager of M & J Fertilizer in Winnie, Texas. By mid-February, you should have already taken field soil samples to determine P, K, zinc, iron and other micronutrient needs.

22 RICE FARMING • MARCH 2016

DR. JOHNNY SAICHUK, LSU AGCENTER RICE SPECIALIST EMERITUS

Specialists Speaking

Phosphorus deficiency can result in stunted rice plants with very erect leaves, fewer tillers and somewhat brittle culms.

“We continue to preach to please pull soil samples on the fields you are going to plant this year and get them to us early,” Spencer says. “And we continue to get the same response — I don’t want to go to the trouble!” For these farmers, Spencer’s daughter, Katie, frequently pulls soil samples to provide help in assessing soil fertility needs. It’s really not that hard to take soil samples, but be sure to take samples from all areas of your fields that may be different. This is particularly true for fields that have not been in rice production for many years. You may be able to save money, increase yields and better preserve the environment by tailoring your fertility needs to specific fields or to specific areas of individual fields. But remember to not base your N needs on soil samples taken preplant — N needs are based on variety, planting date, soil type, irrigation, main or ratoon crop, weather, environmental conditions, etc. Consult your state rice Extension/researcher scientist for more specific, current information on N requirements. I do know from personal experience that when rice runs out of N, it is difficult for plants to compensate for this stress, which means monitor your crop closely for N deficiency. As soon as you observe deficiency symptoms, add N. Don’t go on a calendar basis or wait for plants to reach a certain developmental stage. Spencer also is seeing an increasing number of fields with low P concentrations, which may be due to a general trend of increasing yields over time on both main and ratoon crops. Rice mines soil for P — if available P is low due to increased yields and ratoon cropping, then you should add more P to compensate. Common sense says that higher yields are going to require more P, which is an element found in ATP and ADP — molecules involved in energy production in plants. You need to also check your soil pH. The optimum soil pH for P availability is 6.0-6.5, a little on the acidic side. Once a flood is established, soil pH tends to buffer with both low and high pH soils going toward neutral. So if your soil pH is above or below 6.0-6.5, you may want to add more P. Excessive P is not much of a problem, but P deficiency can result in stunted rice plants with very erect leaves, fewer tillers and somewhat brittle culms. The best remedy is application of proper amounts of preplant P, which can only be determined accurately via soil samples. RICEFARMING.COM

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