Rice Farming May 2019 by One Grower Publishing

www.ricefarming.com

ONE GROWER PUBLISHING, LLC

PROFITABLE PRODUCTION STRATEGIES

MAY 2019

Fungicide-resistant sheath blight serves as wake-up call Louisiana bill targets mislabeled ag products

Dual duty Combo seed treatments may kill 2 weevils with 1 blow

March 2018 May 2019

www.ricefarming.com

COLUMNS

Vol. 52, 53, No. 4 6

COVER STORY

4 From the Editor

Rice'suslong Help recognize history deserving bucks industryhot 'what's leaders in food' trends

USA Rice Update 6 Guest Column

It’s too early to start Ricenever and sustainability planning for Rice Outlook

8 USA Rice Update D PARTMENTS RiceE industry sets priorities for the next Farm Bill 18 Industry News Rice business scene

DEPARTMENTS 19 Specialists Speaking 19 Industry News Sound main crop

10 12

Here stay? Dualto duty

Rice businesstranslates scene management to a better ratoon crop

The Californiaseed rice industry prepares fortwo whatweevils may become annual Combination treatments may kill with one blow.armyworm infestations.

20 Specialist Speaking

Early herbicide mistakes can ON THE COVER: plague you allDryland-loving season long

F E AT U R E S F E AT U R E S 7 The root of the problem 9 The yin andlook yang Researchers underground to find

rice levee billbugs have become an increasing pest in row-rice fields.

Photo courtesy AgCenteronce ON THE COVER:LSU Armyworms again plagued California rice growers in 2017.

Photo by Luis Espino, University of California Cooperative Extension

Shorter up the source ofsupplies weedy have rice’sshorn aggressiveness. market, but increased 2018 planting projections cloud long-term outlook. Rude awakening

be a wake-up call to follow resistance Floods aid expansion

management Giant invasiverules. snail threatens the rice-crawfish rotation in southwest Louisiana Louisiana. targets fake rice State Legislature mulls bill that addresses mislabeling of ag products.

16 16

New tools in the tool box Several new crop-protection products Wet weather, yields and demand

The smell of success

University of Arkansas breeding Rice Awards: Since 1992, the Rice Farmer of program releases new jasmine-type Year, Rice Industry Award and Rice Lifetime longthe grain. Achievement Award recognize deserving lead-

The Rice Farmer of the Year, Rice Industry Award and Rice Lifetime Achievement Award recognize those rice leaders who have demonstrated dedication, determination and innovation to the industry. We need your help to identify candidates who are worthy of these prestigious awards. Please take the time to consider which industry members in your area should be recipients of these honors and mail or scan/email this form and supporting materials.

Categories:

If you are submitting more than one nomination form, please make a copy before you fill out the form. Nomination forms can be downloaded or submitted online at www.ricefarming.com.

Please check the box of the appropriate award category:

q Rice Farmer of the Year Award

Nominee’s name

• Must farm at least 200 acres. • A farmer who has successfully achieved goals in his/her farming operation, rice industry association, community improvement/development, innovative production practices and/or environmental stewardship.

Nominee’s address Nominee’s phone number/email address Nominee’s rice acreage (if applicable)

q Rice Industry Award

Stay up-to-date with the latest from Rice Farming.

• Has been in the rice industry for more than five years. • A researcher, Extension person, government/association leader, etc… who has demonstrated commitment to the rice industry through innovative practices, industry association, community involvement/development.

Your name

q Rice Lifetime Achievement Award

Your profession

Number of years involved in the rice industry (if applicable)

• Has been in the rice industry for more than 10 years. • An industry leader who has provided great contributions to the rice industry through industry associations, community involvement/development, innovative practices/projects that have advanced the industry.

Your address Your phone number/email address Date

Your signature

Deadline:

Please send completed form & supporting materials to: Carroll Smith 7201 Eastern Ave., Germantown, TN 38138 Scan/Email: csmith@onegrower.com

June 30, 2019

On a separate piece of paper, please consider the following: Dedication to farming and/or agriculture and the rice industry, local community and education. Determination to succeed and overcome hurdles that have emerged while trying to reach goals. Innovation to identify new and better ways for the industry to become more profitable, manage risk, achieve a higher level of efficiency. In addition to completing this form, please describe the nominee in terms of the above guidelines. It also is helpful to send letters of recommendation for the nominee from other individuals in the rice industry who are familiar with his/her accomplishments. A panel of judges from across the Rice Belt will select the recipients of the 2019 Rice Awards. The award recipients will be honored at the USA Rice Outlook Conference, Dec. 8-10, 2019, in Little Rock, Arkansas, where an official presentation will be made at the awards luncheon. They also will be featured in a special salute sponsored by Horizon Ag, USA Rice and Rice Farming magazine in the December 2019 issue.

SPONSORS

USA Rice

Update

It’s never too early to start planning for December’s USA Rice Outlook Conference

T By Betsy Ward President and CEO USA Rice

he annual USA Rice Outlook Conference may last only a few days every December, but for us, it’s a year-round job. While the exhibitors are packing up their booths and the attendees are heading home to prepare for the holidays, we’re crouching at the starting gate for the next Outlook. We hit the ground running every January, integrating the lessons learned from the previous year into the grand plans for the next conference. That’s because, as the rice industry’s largest North American gathering, the Outlook Conference continually evolves and adapts to offer attendees an unparalleled experience.

A mix of old favorites and new topics With the 2019 Outlook Conference in Little Rock, Arkansas, about eight months away, you may not be thinking much about what you’ll learn and hear. But we are, and I couldn’t be more excited about our program. It retains many of our most popular sessions and topics, such as global production forecasts, key market developments, on-farm safety and the always popular annual Awards Luncheon we put on with Rice Farming

This mural, which celebrates Arkansas’ rice industry, is in downtown Little Rock, which will host this year’s USA Rice Outlook Conference, Dec. 8-10. COURTESY ARKANSAS TOURISM

RICE FARMING

MAY 2019

magazine and Horizon Ag. But there’s going to be a whole lot more waiting for you in Little Rock this year. We’re casting an eye to the future with a range of cutting-edge programming. Maybe you’ve heard the term “blockchain” technology tossed around lately, but you’re not sure what it is or how it could improve your operation. We’ll have a panel of experts discuss how blockchain can be applied to anything from banking to shipping to quality control. Other speakers will address the newest technology

in mapping, precision ag, and even robotics and artificial intelligence. Planned sessions on CRISPR gene editing explore not just the “could we” of modern ag science but also the “should we.” At a time when scientists have created machines that can literally talk to plants, farmers need to have a handle on all the new innovations that can keep them competitive in a modern world. And Outlook is the perfect way to stay plugged in. A meeting of sustainability-focused minds Of course, when it comes to rice, sustainability is front and center. The Outlook Conference is an amazing venue to learn about landmark advances in sustainability, as well as new techniques to adopt on your own farm. And if you’re already on the bandwagon, it’s the perfect space to share your own sustainability story with the community. Outlook has always been an incubator for innovation that drives our sustainability mission, where rice farmers from across the country can come together and share what methods have worked for them. It’s simply the kind of groundbreaking meeting of minds you won’t find anywhere else. I’m very excited to announce our 2019 Outlook keynote speaker, Dr. Shimi Kang, an award-winning doctor, researcher, author and neuroscience expert. Kang’s insight into the science behind motivation, stress and wellness comes at an appropriate time as we see stress levels rise for all of us — particularly those working in the unpredictable agriculture sector. Her entertaining talk will be filled with science, stories, tips and tricks, and we’ll all leave with a greater understanding of how we can get some control over our busy lives. You should mark your calendar and plan to join us in Little Rock, Dec. 8-10. I also challenge you to reach out to someone in the rice industry who has never been to an Outlook Conference and encourage them to invest the time and energy to attend. They won’t leave empty handed. Have a great, productive and safe summer, and see you in Little Rock! RICEFARMING.COM

Researchers get to the root of weedy rice’s aggressiveness

A look underground Scientists are only just beginning to get their first realistic glimpses of how root growth and below-ground root interactions affect a plant’s ability to compete for resources. In the past, they couldn’t get a decent look at a root system without digging it up, which inevitably damages it, or by growing plants in very artificial conTWITTER: @RICEFARMING

COURTESY WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY

Biologist Kenneth M. Olsen (right) in the greenhouse.

ditions, such as sandwiched between two glass plates. For this study, researchers compared the roots of two independently evolved types of weedy rice that occur in the same rice fields in the southern United States. Using new imaging techniques, including a semi-automated optical tomography approach developed by Christopher Topp at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, the researchers took more than 70 photographs of the root systems of each of 671 different weedy rice plants. Then they modeled the pictures in 3D to create 360-degree digital maps of their roots. The researchers used a variety of algorithms they developed to analyze 98 physical traits — including root depth, root system width, certain exploratory traits and root-soil angles. They also conducted genetic analyses to track the weeds’ separate paths from their domesticated pasts to their persona-nongrata status in the rice fields of today. “Natural selection says that they (the two types of weedy rice) should respond to this environment by evolving similar traits,” says Marshall J. Wedger, a doctoral candidate in Olsen’s laboratory and first author on the paper. “They did evolve similar traits in response to similar envi-

CHRISTOPHER TOPP, DONALD DANFORTH PLANT SCIENCE CENTER

eedy rice is neither wild rice nor commercial rice but instead rice gone rogue that has shed some traits important to people. It also is an incredibly aggressive, potentially detrimental weed that pops up almost everywhere rice is grown, and it can reduce crop yields by more than 80 percent if it invades a field. Researchers from Washington University in St. Louis and the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center used a new imaging technique to reveal a takeover strategy that has worked for weedy rice over and over again: roots that minimize below-ground contact with other plants. “Weedy rice may have evolved a go-italone ‘cheater’ root growth strategy that could allow it to exploit the nutrient-sharing soil environment of rice fields,” says Kenneth Olsen, biology professor in Arts & Sciences at Washington University and senior author on a paper in the journal, “New Phytologist.” “We tend to think of competition occurring above ground because that’s the part of the plant we see. But that’s only half the plant,” Olsen says. “It’s the ‘hidden half’ — i.e., the root system — that plays a critical role in some of the most important aspects of plant growth and survival, including water uptake and competition for essential nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus.” By some estimates, root growth is actually a more important determinant of competitive success than above-ground growth, Olsen says. “This appears to be particularly true for agricultural weeds such as weedy rice, which compete against crop varieties in agricultural fields,” he says.

New imaging techniques allow researchers to consider how weedy rice plants have repeatedly evolved root systems that may convey a competitive advantage.

ronmental pressures, but they did so using very different genetic mechanisms.” The new study shows how two independently evolved weedy rice strains have convergently arrived at a similar pattern of root growth that may play a role in their ability to outcompete cultivated rice for soil nutrients. “By looking at the genetic basis of weedy rice evolution, we can see whether — at the genetic level — there’s more than one way to evolve a weed,” Olsen says. “What we find, both for above-ground traits and now with this study for belowground traits, is that the answer is a definitive yes.” Washington University contributed this article. MAY 2019

RICE FARMING

PHOTOS BY DR. DON GROTH, LSU AGCENTER

Typical sheath blight damage appears as a 'bird nest' in rice fields.

Rude awakening Fungicide-resistant sheath blight should be a wake-up call to follow resistance management rules regardless of where you farm. By Vicky Boyd Editor

esistance of the sheath blight pathogen to the popular strobilurin fungicides continues to increase, encompassing roughly half of Louisiana’s rice acres as well as one confirmed field in Mississippi. Although strobilurins still provide good sheath blight control in fields without resistance, the growing issue should reinforce the need to follow sound resistance-management practices, says Louisiana State University AgCenter plant pathologist Don Groth. They include scouting fields to identify the disease, applying the right product at the correct rate and at the proper timing, and rotating effective modes of action. But rotating effective modes of action may be a challenge, since only two other fungicide families are registered for sheath blight control in rice — SDHIs and DMIs. And researchers have detected one case of sheath blight resistance to SDHIs in Louisiana.

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MAY 2019

Strobilurin resistance a disappointment First discovered near Acadia Parish, Louisiana, in 2011, strobilurin-resistant sheath blight wasn’t surprising considering weeds and insects eventually develop resistance if treated repeatedly with the same modes of action, Groth says. Nevertheless, he calls the discovery disappointing. “When I saw those numbers coming out of the testing and saw the resistance, I was really depressed for a while because the strobis are such a useful tool for rice,” says Groth, also resident coordinator of the AgCenter’s H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station in Crowley. “They’re highly effective, have low use rates and basically disappear off the crop by harvest time. You can’t ask for any better fungicides.” He suspects much of the resistance developed from growers using the fungicide as a type of “cheap insurance,” whether they RICEFARMING.COM

Sheath blight can cause severe damage to rice stems.

needed it or not. Event though they may have only applied it once per season, they used the same mode of action every year repeatedly, selecting for organisms that could withstand treatment. The original sheath blight resistance in Louisiana was to Quadris, an azoxystrobin fungicide from Syngenta. But AgCenter researchers have since confirmed cross-resistance to Gem, a trifloxystrobin fungicide from Bayer. Both belong to the Fungicide Resistance Action Committee’s Group 11, which includes strobilurins. “From what I’ve seen with all of the rice strobis and some of the ones used on soybeans, it seems like there’s cross-resistance to other strobis from failed performances,” he says. “If you have the strobi resistance, you’re going to get almost no activity. I just prefer growers rotate to some other mode of action to break it up.” Yeshi Wamishe, University of Arkansas Extension plant pathologist, conducted baseline studies when strobi resistance was first detected in Louisiana to gauge sensitivity of the organism to the fungicide in Arkansas. They were susceptible, and Wamishe says she hasn’t heard any complaints since then from growers or consultants about the fungicides having reduced efficacy. Strobi-resistant sheath blight also has been confirmed in one rice field in the central Delta of Mississippi, says Tom Allen, Mississippi State University Extension plant pathologist. The producer had made two fungicide applications per season the past few years with a premix that contained a strobilurin and another fungicide to likely pick up kernel smut. Like Groth, Allen says, “If one particular fungicide within a fungicide class, Group 11 in this case, results in resistance, then the remainder of fungicides within that specific class of fungicides will not work to manage the sheath blight fungus.” Instead, Allen says growers will need to turn to an SDHI, creating a situation where those with resistant sheath blight are down to a single mode of action. Few alternatives available The two SDHIs, or Group 7s, currently registered for rice are Sercadis from BASF and Elegia from Nichino America. Although the products are very active against strobi-resistant sheath blight, Groth says they are narrow spectrum and don’t pick up many of the other problematic rice diseases. Syngenta’s 2018 introduction of Amistar Top, which targets a broader disease spectrum, led Sercadis registrant BASF to refoTWITTER: @RICEFARMING

Sheath blight progression showing early and late lesion development on rice leaves.

cus its marketing and redirect supplies of the fungicide to apples from rice this season, says Nick Fassler, BASF manager, technical marketing group. Sercadis first came to the rice market five years ago under a Section 18 emergency-use registration to help manage strobi-resistant sheath blight. LSU AgCenter researchers have detected one case of sheath blight resistance to an SDMI in the state, Groth says. “From what I saw in the field, we suspect resistance but it’s not at the same level as strobis,” he says. “We saw small spots out there, but it still had a lot of activity.” Other fungicides in the works Amistar Top, a premix of azoxystrobin and difenoconazole from Syngenta, was registered for use on rice in time for the 2018 season. It contains a Group 11 and a Group 3 fungicide. Groth had conducted trials with the premix for four or five years before that and had seen excellent sheath blight control as well as activity on rice blast and Cercospora. But in 2018, he says, it didn’t perform as well, leaving him disappointed. The on- and off-station trials were conducted using a backpack sprayer, and applications to commercial fields are typically flown on by planes. Even with applications made with a ground rig, he says the premix didn’t perform as well. Groth says he plans to look into the issue this year to determine whether it might be environmental or a thicker canopy. He also plans to look at surfactants to aid canopy penetration, different application technologies, different tankmixes and earlier timings at PD+5 rather than waiting until boot. Valent U.S.A. expects the Environmental Protection Agency will register Indiflin, a Group 7, in late 2019 in time for the 2020 use season, says Frank Carey, Valent field market development specialist. The Valent product, an SDHI, has shown good activity against strobi-resistant sheath blight in trials, Groth says. But the outlook for additional modes of action being brought to the rice market to control sheath blight remains slim. “I’m hoping we have enough products because there aren’t many in the pipeline,” Groth says. “I’m not hopeful we’ll get Sercadis back. I’m hoping we can get Amistar Top to work correctly, and that will help us a lot.” MAY 2019

RICE FARMING

VICKY BOYD

Louisiana legislation would allow the state agricultural commissioner to impose civil penalties on companies or individuals who mislabel several agricultural products, including rice.

Louisiana targets fake rice State Legislature mulls bill that addresses mislabeling of ag products.

RICE FARMING

MAY 2019

By Vicky Boyd Editor

ouisiana lawmakers are following their Arkansas counterparts and are taking up a bipartisan truth-in-labeling proposal for agricultural products. Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, introduced Senate Bill 152, the “Truth in Labeling of Agricultural Products Act,” into the Louisiana Senate April 8. Rep. John Stefanski, R-Crowley, will carry it as the bill moves into the House. Scott Franklin, a Holly Ridge, Louisiana, rice producer, rice merchant and president of the Northeast Louisiana Rice Growers Association, recently testified before the Senate Agriculture Committee about the need for the law. “If you look at all of the bags, whether it’s cauliflower or broccoli or whatever, the largest word on the bag is rice,” he says he told lawmakers. “So they’re intentionally getting you to think about gumbo or etouffee or all of the culinary advantages rice has in the state of Louisiana.” Franklin singled out a couple of the biggest offenders that offer riceshaped products made with chickpeas and other legumes. The word “rice” is in large print, with the legume ingredients in much smaller RICEFARMING.COM

Bill includes rice, meat and crawfish The Louisiana bill targets products mislabeled as beef, pork, poultry, crawfish, shrimp, deer, rabbit, turtles, alligator, sugar and rice and applies to any company or person doing business in the state. “‘Rice’ means the whole, broken, or ground kernels or byproducts obtained from the species Oryza sativa L. or Oryza glaberrima, or wild rice, which is obtained from one of the four species of grasses from the genus Zizania or Porteresia,” according to the bill’s language. For rice, the legislation specifically prohibits “affixing a label that uses a variation of rice in the name of the agricultural product when the agricultural product is not rice or derived from rice.” Entities that violate the provisions are subject to civil penalties of up to $500 per violation per day. The Louisiana Commission of Weights and Measures also is allowed to recoup costs incurred during prosecuting the case, according to the proposed legislation. After the Senate Ag Committee hearing, the bill moved to the full Senate floor, where it was passed 34-0. It now moves to the House for consideration before finally ending up on Gov. John TWITTER: @RICEFARMING

COURTESY USA RICE

or less prominent type to make consumers think they’re buying some form of rice. In fact, one of them describes its legume-based product as “a dry (shelf-stable) rice grain packed with the power of vegetables,” when in fact it contains less than 10 percent rice. The bulk of its ingredients comprise chickpeas, lentils and green peas. Another product that bills itself as “rice” is made from chickpeas, potato starch, xanthan gum and sea salt. “They know what they’re doing,” Franklin says. “I’m calling them on it.” Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain, who also was at the hearing, agreed. “In government, we have a responsibility to the people to make sure when they buy a product, what is on the label is what is in that product,” Strain says. “All we’re asking for is that the label be truthful.” Franklin says he heard no negative comments or questions from ag committee members after his testimony, and they voted unanimously to pass it out of committee. “I actually believe all of the committee members had done their homework beforehand and kind of understood,” he says. “I’m just really pleased with their response.” Franklin was joined by several other farmers and rice industry representatives as well as U.S. Rep. Ralph Abraham’s chief of staff who were all in the audience for support. Based on the proposal’s reception so far, Franklin says he remains optimistic it will eventually be passed by both houses and signed by the governor. “We have legislation on the books for the governments of Louisiana and Arkansas and hopefully soon in Mississippi, Texas and Missouri,” he says. “It carries a lot of weight when there are actual state governments that say, ‘We need this. Please federal government, you have to make this determination.’” He was referring to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration standard of identify for rice, which USA Rice has been advocating for the past few years.

Louisiana rice producer and rice merchant Scott Franklin (left)

Bel Edward’s desk for his signature. If signed into law, the provision would take effect Oct. 1, 2020. Learning from Arkansas The Louisiana legislation follows Arkansas, where Gov. Asa Hutchinson signed a bill into law in late March that targeted mislabeling of agricultural products, including rice. Unlike Arkansas, which included dairy products in its truth-inlabeling bill, Louisiana will take that up in separate legislation.

“We’re fairly confident, because you really can’t argue with truth in labeling. You can’t label something that it is not.” Jackie Loewer, chairman of the Louisiana Rice Producers Group, says they have worked with Arkansas Rice to learn from challenges that group faced in advocating for the legislation. “We’re fairly confident, because you really can’t argue with truth in labeling,” Loewer says. “You can’t label something that it is not.” And much like Arkansas, he says, the Louisiana proposal is not about protecting the rice industry. “We’re approaching it with the fact that it’s just incorrect and it’s not fair,” Loewer says. “We’re not approaching it that it’s harmful to the (rice industry). That would violate interstate commerce. It’s not protectionist — it’s truth in labeling.” As more states take on these mislabeling issues, he says he also hopes the federal government will eventually establish a national standard of identify for rice to avoid piecemeal stateby-state regulations. MAY 2019

RICE FARMING

AARON CATO, UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS

After hatching, billbug larvae burrow into rice stems, where they feed and deprive the developing grain head of nutrients.

Dual duty Combination seed treatments may kill two weevils with one blow. By Vicky Boyd Editor

A bug of mystery One of the challenges is very little is known about rice levee

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COURTESY LSU AGCENTER

weevil that prefers drier ground and typically frequents rice levees has begun damaging furrow-irrigated rice, thanks in part to a lack of permanent flood in the upper portions of the fields. At the same time, producers of row rice — as the system is also called — may also have to deal with water-loving rice water weevils in the lower portions of their fields that they’ve boarded up to catch irrigation runoff. Preliminary research led by University of Arkansas Extension rice entomologist Nick Bateman has found over-treating a standard neonicotinoid seed treatment with either Dermacor or Fortenza appears to control both weevil pests. Bateman stresses the results are from only one site and from only one season, but he says they look promising. As row-rice acres have grown, so has the crop damage caused by rice levee billbugs, a weevil that prefers drier ground. RICEFARMING.COM

More trials in the works In 2018, Bateman conducted trials on a farm in Jackson County, Arkansas, that examined different seed treatments for billbug control. This year, he plans to exTWITTER: @RICEFARMING

MATTHEW DAVIS, JACKSON COUNTY, ARKANSAS, COOPERATIVE EXTENSION

billbug’s biology, reproduction and overwintering habits. Entomologists could find billbugs during hot, dry years, but they were typically relegated to the levees and growers seldom worried about them. That was until row rice acres began to increase. “Row rice is going to open up a whole new can of worms in terms of insect issues,” Bateman says. “You eliminate a lot of dispersion of rice water weevil, which is our No. 1 insect pest. And it also increases grape colaspis damage.” As part of his research this season, Bateman plans to enlist several county agents to put out different traps, ranging from pink and yellow sticky panels to blacklight and bucket traps. He hopes the trap catches will help shed light on some of the billbug unknowns. Wendell Minson, a consultant near Dexter, Missouri, has talked to Bateman about also putting out traps in the Bootheel. In the area he serves, row rice acres have taken off. During the past couple of years, he and a colleague who also serves the Bootheel, Tim Flowers, have seen an increase in billbug pressure. “Last year we started to see it a little more, and we both saw it at the same time,” Minson says. “We started to try to figure out what it was — we put 2 and 2 together.” Flowers says they have seen billbugs on levees or around the edges of fields in the past, so the insect isn’t new. “But it’s a new problem that we’re not used to dealing with, and it’s beginning to cause concern,” he says. Minson says he suspects billbugs will become an increasing problem as more growers adopt row rice. At the same time, some of his growers have gone to much lower beds that resemble a graded field with little grooves. The practice appears to improve wicking, allowing better water movement and keeping the area moist longer. And Minson wonders whether the wetter soil will be less hospitable to billbugs. “We know that billbugs don’t like that wet culture, so that might be helping us a little bit,” he says.

University of Arkansas Extension entomologist Nick Bateman plans to enlist county agents to put out traps, such as bucket traps, to help shed light on billbug unknowns.

pand the trials to three or four locations, including near Stuttgart and in Southeast Arkansas. Bateman also will lead trials looking at foliar insecticides to possibly control billbugs in-season, but application timing may be tricky. After hatching, billbug larvae burrow into rice stems, where they feed and deprive the developing grain head of nutrients. The result can be blanked heads, which by the time they’re visible are too late to treat. By spending much of their life in tillers, larvae also are protected from foliar-applied insecticides. “That’s why I don’t have a whole lot of faith right now in our Karates and Belays — they don’t have very long residuals,” he says. In the turf industry where they battle

a related billbug, traps are used to determine when the pest has moved into an area. Then a DD50 model predicts the optimum spray timing. The program has been used successfully for Kentucky and Tennessee golf courses, Bateman says. Whether a similar model would work for levee billbugs is uncertain. At the end of last season, he found billbug life stages ranging from newly hatched larvae to adults, leading him to think there may be a continuous migration of billbugs into fields. A tale of three environments Many row rice fields actually provide three different environments within one block. The upper one third is dry except when irrigation water runs down the furrows. MAY 2019

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Submit a nomination for the 2019 Rice Consultant of the Year Award. Recognize an outstanding consultant or pest control adviser (PCA) for his or her dedication, leadership and innovation in the U.S. rice industry. For more information, go to ricefarming.com/rcoy or go to Page 15 in this issue of Rice Farming.

Submit nominations by June 30, 2019.

S P O N S O R E D

B Y

Abbreviated Rules. No Purchase Necessary. Contest ends on 6/30/19 at 11:59:59 PM (CT). To enter, go to http://www.ricefarming. com/rcoy. Nominators must be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry and possess knowledge and/or experience in the rice farming industry. Entrants must be legal residents of the fifty (50) United States and District of Columbia who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry and serve as a rice consultant or as a pest control adviser in the rice farming industry. Void where prohibited. Sponsor: Dow AgroSciences LLC, 9330 Zionsville Road, Indianapolis, IN 46268. Trademarks of Dow AgroSciences, DuPont or Pioneer, and their affiliated companies or their respective owners.

™

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MAY 2019

Overtreatments performed well Because row rice fields may host both billbugs and rice water weevils, Bateman wanted to determine whether seed treatments could be used to control both pests. During 2018, he looked at a number of products, both individually and in combination. Arkansas rice producers have traditionally used either CruiserMaxx or NipsIt Inside because they control rice water weevil as well as grape colapsis, a pest that is particularly troublesome in rice fields rotated with soybeans. Efficacy of either neonicotinoid seed treatment begins to fade 28-35 days after the seed is put in the ground. Dermacor X-100, another seed treatment, isn’t used as much in Arkansas as it is in South Louisiana. Although strong on rice water weevils, stem borers and armyworms, it is weak on grape colapsis, which aren’t a big problem in South Louisiana. From Corteva Agriscience, Dermacor contains the active ingredient, chlorantraniliprole. Bateman also included the Arkansas standard treatments overtreated with labeled rates of either Fortenza or Dermacor. Fortenza, from Syngenta, contains the active ingredient cyantraniliprole. In addition, Bateman included an overtreat-

COURTESY LSU AGCENTER

2019

This is where billbugs concentrate because of a lack of permanent flood. The middle one third is similar to AWD, or alternate wetting and drying, where there are prolonged periods of moist soil. The bottom third resembles a conventional rice field with a permanent flood, since many growers install boards at the bottom that capture and back up run-off from the top portion. Rice water weevils also tend to concentrate in this section because of the flood. During 2018, Bateman conducted minor billbug surveys of fields as he drove around to visit producers. “It wasn’t hard to find billbug damage in almost all of the row rice fields, but there were low numbers that wouldn’t be yield limiting,” he says. “In a few areas around Newport, there were a couple of hot spots, but the fields have also been in row rice for three to five years now. So it’s looking like right now, you see a little bit of damage, it builds up and then all of a sudden, they have major issues.”

Female billbugs lay eggs at or below the soil surface.

ment with Prevathon, a chlorantraniliprole product from FMC not yet registered for use on rice. Both chlorantraniliprole and cyantraniliprole are diamide insecticides and provide residual control for 60-70 days after planting. The theory was that by overtreating CruiserMaxx or NipsIt with labeled rates of cyantraniliprole or chlorantraniliprole, the combination would control not only grape colaspis and rice water weevil but also billbugs, which tend to cause damage later than other root-feeding pests. In the trial, researchers counted blank heads as well as measured yields for each treatment. Statistically, there was no difference in the blank head rating among all treatments. “One of the things we didn’t capture was the amount of tillers that never headed,” he says. “The untreated check had much fewer heads. I think that’s why we saw the major yield increase. The Fortenza and Dermacor plots probably had twice as many heads but also a high percentage that blanked.” Currently, Fortenza costs about $7-8 per acre for hybrid seed and $20-22 per acre for conventional seed, according to figures from University of Arkansas Extension entomologist Gus Lorenz. Dermacor is about $12.50 per acre for hybrid seed and $25 for conventional seed. NipsIt and CruiserMaxx both cost about $10-12 per acre for either hybrid or conventional seed. RICEFARMING.COM

2019

N O M I N A T I O N

Nominate an outstanding consultant or pest control adviser (PCA) for the Rice Consultant of the Year Award. “At Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, we understand rice consultants have a vital role in the industry,” says Brooklynne Dalton, product manager for rice herbicides, Corteva Agriscience™, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont. “Consultants have a big task in being asked to be experts on current conditions, evolving technologies and individual production needs to help growers manage successful operations.

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Wet weather, yields and demand Three factors inﬂuence prices and could help move rice markets from their current doldrums. By Kurt Guidry

here has been very little positive momentum in the rice market over the past several months. Cash prices in Louisiana are still being reported in the $17 per-barrel range (roughly $10.50 per hundredweight) and have been at that level for much of 2019. Despite the release of the planting intentions report at the end of March being viewed as neutral to slightly positive, the market has not shown any reaction. Prior to the report, there was some concern that rice acres could grow in 2019 as a lack of attractive planting alternatives forced more acres to rice. So when the report showed total rice acres falling by about 76,000 acres (2.946 million acres in 2018 compared to 2.87 million acres in 2019), there was some thought that the market would build positive momentum.

Unfortunately, that has not been the case. When factoring in the expected 2019 acres into the supply-and-demand projections for the 2019/20 marketing year, the reduction doesn’t seem to be enough, by itself, to drastically change the market outlook for rice. Since the reduction in acres was fairly evenly split between long- and medium-grain acres, it didn’t create a signiﬁcant advantage in the supply-and-demand picture for either one. Three areas to watch With very little change in acres from 2018 to 2019, price direction and movement for the 2019/20 marketing year will have to come from three broad areas. The ﬁrst is weather issues. Wet conditions this spring throughout much of the rice -growing area is creating some concern about

Wet, rutted fields, like the one pictured here in Sunflower County, Mississippi, have slowed planting throughout much of the MidSouth rice belt. Depending on the year, rice planted through midMay can still achieve more than 90 percent of its optimal yield potential, according to university planting date studies.

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um-grain rice has reduced the medium-grain market for U.S. rice and has dampened the positive momentum seen in this market earlier in the year. Dog days of summer The bottom line is that, despite some small areas of optimism, it appears the 2019/20 marketing year will be very similar to what was experienced in 2018/19. While total rice production should be smaller in 2019, much larger stocks to start the marketing year will leave total supplies at or above those experienced in the previous marketing year. Examining several different scenarios for all rice and long-grain rice supply and demand fundamentals shows that ending stocks are projected to see only modest changes from the previous year. For stocks to fall significantly in the 2019/20 marketing year, the market would need to have yields below trend line levels, total demand at five-year highs and total rice imports at five-year lows. Even with all of those factors, ending stocks would still only fall to levels seen during the 2017/18 marketing year when longgrain prices averaged $11.50 cwt ($18.63 per barrel) in the United States. Given this outlook and projections for supply and demand for 2019, it appears that a logical price projection for the 2019 crop would be somewhere in the $17 to $19 per-barrel range ($10.50 to $11.73 cwt), with an outside shot at $20 ($12.35 cwt). Slightly improving supply-and-demand fundamentals should keep the probability of prices falling below the $17 per-barrel range fairly low. Dr. Kurt Guidry is Southwest Region director and Extension economist with the Louisiana State University AgCenter in Crowley. He may be reached at KMGuidry@agcenter.lsu.edu.

COURTESY MISSISSIPPI STATE UNIVERSITY

rice acres being prevented from planting. As of April 15, 26 percent of the rice acres were planted, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. This is down from the five-year average of 35 percent. Slower plantings than the five-year average was reported in every state except for Louisiana, which reported 77 percent of the acres planted versus the five-year average of 76 percent. In Arkansas, only 19 percent of the acres were reported as planted as of April 15 compared to the five-year average of 34 percent. While planting progress can catch up in a hurry, this may bear watching. Any reduction of rice acres could help build some slight momentum in the market. The second area is yields. Over the past three years, rice yields have been at or above trend line yields. Another year of trend line yields would likely push production and total supplies to levels that would question the ability of the market to sustain prices at higher levels. However, with the slower pace of planting and the potential for a large amount of rice being planted at the end of the optimum planting window, we could see some impacts on yields that could help support prices. The third and final area has been one with the most influence on prices over the past several years and that is overall demand. The root of the situation has been the market’s inability to attract and capture sufficient demand to offset changing supply levels. While total rice exports through April 11 are essentially the same as last year, they are still off by more than 13 percent from the five-year average from 2012 to 2017. Increased competition and higher U.S. milled rice prices continue to limit the ability to capture larger market share. In addition, a recent increase in China’s exports of medi-

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Industry Jennifer James elected to Riceland’s Board of Directors

When Jennifer Hare James joined the Riceland Foods’ Board of Directors, May 1, representing District 5, she became the first woman to do so in the cooperative’s 98-year history. James, who farms rice, soybeans and corn with her family near Jennifer Hare Newport, Arkansas, had James served on Riceland’s Northeast District Drier Council board since 2003. “Always kind of in the back of my mind the goal was to be on the board of Riceland Foods,” she said. Last summer, James attended a women’s leadership conference where one of the speakers told participants to look around the table at the board of directors of the industries in which they work. “If you don’t see yourself or someone like yourself representing your interests, then it’s your job to fill that seat,” she says, relaying the speaker’s message. “In agriculture, there aren’t that many women on

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boards of directors, so it gave me a little push.” At the urging of several area growers last winter, she ran for and was elected to the main Riceland Foods board. “It gave me the courage to run, and obviously, the farmers in my district were quite supportive,” James said. “I was shocked, surprised and humbled.” She also credits the Rice Leadership Development Program for providing her the skills and confidence to pursue various leadership positions throughout the years. “I’ve been volunteering in the rice industry for about 20 years now,” said James, a 1997 leadership program graduate. “It’s my duty to give back what was invested in me during my time in the leadership class. It certainly provided the foundation and gave me access to meetings, committees and networking and helped me build relationships with farmers not only in Arkansas but throughout the country. It has built my confidence and ability to represent farmers in different capacities in the industry.” In addition, Newport-based M & P Community Bancshares, a holding company for Merchants and Planters Bank and M & P Insurance and Investment Services, recently added James to their bank and holding company’s board of directors.

University of Arkansas to begin breeding new Provisia rice

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The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture will begin breeding new lines of Provisia rice, which use nonGMO herbicide-resistant traits developed by BASF. The Division of Agriculture and BASF signed the breeding development agreement earlier this year. Bob Scott, director of the Rice Research and Extension Center in Stuttgart, Arkansas, says the timing will allow Division of Agriculture researchers to take advantage of the 2019 growing season to begin what will likely be a four- to seven-year process to develop and release commercially viable Provisia rice varieties. “We are very excited to begin our breeding efforts on BASF’s new Provisia technology,” Scott says. “The Provisia fields I looked at last year were put into some very bad resistant and weedy situations and were still some of the cleanest fields out there.” Through the agreement, Division of Agriculture researchers will focus on devel-

oping varieties of Provisia that are primarily suited to Arkansas growing conditions. Donnarie Hales, rice portfolio manager with BASF, says that one of Provisia’s primary strengths is that it allows growers to keep more of their rice acreage in rice production by adding an additional herbicide rotation to their operation. “For growers who lost a lot of acres to volunteer rice and grass pressure, we saw Provisia provide excellent control last season, which really cleaned up their fields,” Hales says. John Carlin, director of the Arkansas Crop Variety Improvement Program, says he hopes the cooperative endeavor with BASF will provide Arkansas growers with better tools to achieve maximum yield while minimizing inputs.

Summer university rice field days } June 12: Acadia Parish Rice Field Day, H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station South Farm, Crowley, Louisiana. } June 25: 45th annual Eagle Lake Rice Field Day, David R. Wintermann Rice Research Station, just north of Eagle Lake, Texas. } June 26: LSU AgCenter Rice Field Day, H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, Crowley, Louisiana. } July 11: 72nd annual Beaumont Rice Field Day, Texas A&M AgriLife Research Center, Beaumont, Texas. } July 18: Rohwer Row Crops Field Day, University of Arkansas Rohwer Research Station, Watson, Arkansas. } Aug. 1: Arkansas Rice College, Rice Research and Extension Center, Stuttgart, Arkansas. } Aug. 2: University of Arkansas Division of Agriculture Rice Research & Extension Center Field Day, Stuttgart, Arkansas. } Aug. 8: Mississippi State University Rice Field Day, Delta Research and Extension Center, Stoneville, Mississippi. } Aug. 8: Pine Tree Row Crops Field Day, University of Arkansas Pine Tree Experiment Station, Colt, Arkansas. } Aug. 22: Missouri Rice Council’s annual Rice Field Day, Missouri Rice Research Farm, Glennonville, Missouri. } Aug. 28: California Rice Field Day, California Rice Experiment Station, Biggs, California. For more event listings, visit www.rice farming.com/calendar. RICEFARMING.COM

Specialists

Consider these nitrogen management tips for row rice DR. JARROD HARDKE

ARKANSAS Assoc. Professor/Rice Extension Agronomist University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service jhardke@uaex.edu Arkansas appears headed toward a further increase in furrow-irrigated rice acres in 2019. This production practice is finding a substantial rotational fit for growers to save on land management costs, primarily associated with expenses related to tillage. Ultimately, there are some important management considerations that go with this unique and evolving production practice compared to our traditional delayed-flood rice management. While we can save on some land management and rotational costs, we should also be prepared for a potential increase in input costs related to nitrogen (N) fertility and pest management. Preliminary N management research in Arkansas has focused primarily on hybrid cultivars due to their blast-resistance and stress-tolerance packages, which make them more suitable for this system where increased stresses are expected. However, pureline varieties can be grown in this system but with an increased risk. To date, our N trials for furrow-irrigated hybrid rice show that a number of strategies are viable options. We can go with the â&#x20AC;&#x153;spoon-feedâ&#x20AC;? approach where we make four applications of 45 pounds of N every seven days beginning at the five-leaf stage. This has been a traditional approach that continues to work well. However, the most consistent N strategy has been to apply 50 percent of typical preflood N rates at the five-leaf stage followed by the other 50 percent 10-14 days later, and then follow that with an additional 45 pounds of N about seven days later. On loamy soils with a normal preflood N rate of 120 pounds N per acre, this means 60 pounds N at five-leaf, 60 pounds 10-14 days later and 45 pounds seven days later. On clayey soils with a normal preflood rate of 150 pounds N per acre, we simply adjust to a 75 followed by 75 followed by 45 approach. Sometimes the additional 45 pounds of N in the last application is not needed to maximize yield. This is why we recommend establishing a GreenSeeker reference plot in the upper and lower sections of the field to evaluate the need for this final application. Without these reference plots to assist in determining the rice plants N status, it is recommended you automatically make the application. In addition to the N applications already mentioned, we conTWITTER: @RICEFARMING

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tinue to recommend the late boot N application. Recent work in flood-irrigated rice has shown that even at excessive preflood N rates, we continue to get a positive response from this application as increased milling yields, reduced lodging potential and slightly increased grain yield. When transitioning to furrow-irrigated rice, weed management changes are necessary due to the lack of a flood to help keep weeds suppressed. In general, it is wise to budget for one additional herbicide application in furrow-irrigated rice compared to flood-irrigated rice. This additional application needs to include a pre-emergence herbicide but also potentially a post-emergence herbicide. We will continue to evaluate and update recommendations for furrow-irrigated rice as we research this emerging production practice. For maximum efficiency and reduction of moisture-deficit stress to rice, it is recommended to use beds no wider than 30 inches on loam soils and no wider than 38-40 inches on clayey soils. Some have had success with 60-inch beds on clays, but adequate irrigation capacity must exist to wick moisture completely through the beds. To facilitate this, ensure bed height is no greater than 4 inches from bottom of furrow to top of bed. Good luck in 2019, and let us know if we can help.

Prepare now for later-season disease management DR. BOBBY GOLDEN

MISSISSIPPI Extension Rice Specialist bgolden@drec.msstate.edu As I sit down to write this article on April 15, less than 30 percent of the total Mississippi rice acreage has been planted. This delay makes speculation on the 2019 rice season difficult, but as we trend toward a later-planted crop, disease management may play a crucial role in the later months. Seed treatments are still vital for seedling disease prevention, even as germination periods decrease with the later-seeded rice crop. Sheath blight caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia solani is currently considered the most important disease for Mississippi producers in direct-seeded, delayed-flood environments. This disease requires a multifaceted approach for proper management, including choosing less-susceptible cultivars, avoiding excess N fertilization and regularly scouting fields, especially where rice is grown either continuously or in 1:1 soybean rotations. The proper use of fungicides has allowed for some control of this disease, but yield reductions can be significant if not controlled in a timely manner. The increasing adoption of row rice in this area can have sigMAY 2019

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nificant implications on rice disease management in Mississippi. With this shift in production technique, the lack of a permanent flood and N management strategies may greatly affect disease incidence and pathogen presence. One of the most concerning diseases in row-rice acreage is rice blast. Rice blast is caused by the fungus Pyricularia grisea and is considered one of the most damaging rice diseases that occur in Mississippi. One of the most effective control strategies is to maintain a flood of at least a 4-inch constant across a conventionally grown flooded field. However, this strategy becomes unfeasible in row-rice production. The possible increased incidence of this disease in row-rice systems is of major concern and must be properly managed and accounted for. Rice blast management in row-rice systems begins with planting a cultivar with resistance, avoiding excessive N fertilization, planting early to avoid heavy blast pressure that can occur later in the season and scouting intensively so that a fungicide application can be made in a timely manner if blast is present. This timing often does not coincide with applications routinely made for sheath blight. As heavy rains continue to delay planting, preparation for proper rice disease management of later-planted crops will be critical in the 2019 growing season.

Post-harvest stubble management helps boost ratoon yields DR. DUSTIN HARRELL

LOUISIANA LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station dharrell@agcenter.lsu.edu Ratoon rice production is an economically important production practice along the Gulf Coast areas of Louisiana and Texas. Producers growing a second crop of rice strive to achieve a yield of one-third or higher of the main crop yield. There are many things that a producer can do to ensure a highyield potential in the ratoon crop. These include: } Planting a variety or hybrid that has been proven to be a good ratooning cultivar.

DR. DUSTIN HARRELL, LSU AGCENTER

Post-harvest stubble management using a crimper roller in Louisiana.

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} Planting the main crop within the recommended planting window. } Harvesting the main crop prior to Aug. 15. } Harvesting the main crop at the optimum grain moisture of 18-22 percent. } Harvest on dry ground to minimize rutting. } Fertilizing with 90 pounds (or more in some cases) of nitrogen fertilizer. } Fertilizing with P and K if the soil is limiting in one of these nutrients. } Re-establishing a very shallow flood quickly.

Sound main crop management translates to a better ratoon crop DR. M.O. â&#x20AC;&#x153;MOâ&#x20AC;? WAY

TEXAS Rice Research Entomologist moway@aesrg.tamu.edu For this issue of Rice Farming, I will talk about ratoon production in Texas. According to the Texas Rice Crop Survey, 66 percent of Texas rice acreage was ratooned in 2018 with an average yield of 3,099 pounds per acre. The most popular varieties ratooned were XL753, XL723, CL153 and Presidio. These stats show how important the ratoon crop is to Texas rice farmers. The percent of main crop acres ratooned continues to increase here. In my research with insects, I have consistently found that if you properly manage your insect pests on the main crop, you TWITTER: @RICEFARMING

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However, a practice that is not mandatory but that has consistently shown to increase yields in ratoon rice is post-harvest stubble management. It can increase ratoon yields by 5 barrels (810 pounds) per acre or more. Post-harvest stubble management can be done by using a flail or a rotary (Bush Hog type) mower and reducing the stubble height to approximately 8 inches. It can also be done by using a roller or crimper-roller-type implement, which flattens the rice and breaks the stubble near the crown node. All stubble management practices, regardless of the implement used, increase ratoon yields by forcing the ratoon to come back from the crown node of the plant. Research has shown that ratoon panicles that originate from the crown node have bigger panicles, more grains per panicle and more filled grains per panicle compared with panicles originating from upper nodes from non-manipulated rice stubble. If there is one non-mandatory practice that I would recommend over all others to increase ratoon rice yields, it would be to use post-harvest stubble management.

The plants on the left were grown using insecticide-treated seeds to protect against rice water weevil. The plants on the right were from untreated seed.

will see a significant benefit on the ratoon crop. For instance, although rice water weevils do not directly attack the ratoon crop to any extent, control of this root-feeding pest on the main crop results in a more robust root system going into the second crop. Another potential pest of the ratoon crop is fall armyworm, which can be easily controlled with foliar-applied registered insecticides. But if you apply Dermacor-X-100 to your seed, you can obtain good control of fall armyworm (and stem borers) attacking your ratoon crop. Another positive benefit of using seed treatments to control rice water weevil is you do not have to drain fields to control this pest, which was often done in the past. Dr. Don Groth, Louisiana State University AgCenter rice plant pathologist, has recently remarked at Extension and industry meetings that applying insecticidal seed treatments is a good tactic to control blast. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s because you do not have to drain fields to control this insect, and draining fields provides the perfect environmental conditions to foster a blast outbreak. MAY 2019

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Specialists Speaking Other factors to consider regarding successful ratoon production are: 1. Plant early so your main crop is harvested before Aug. 15 (this is a guideline). 2. Try not to rut up fields during main crop harvest. 3. Usually, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best to apply N fertilizer just before you flood up your ratoon crop. 4. If you cut your main crop low, you may delay maturity a bit. But you will also improve uniformity and help control stem borers, which survive inside culms of the main crop. 5. Try to spread out your straw after main-crop harvest to remove windrows, which interfere with ratoon crop growth. 6. You may consider applying gibberellin acid to your main crop during the dough stage to increase ratoon crop production. As always, it is important to scout your ratoon crop just like you do your main crop. One last comment: As you know, we discovered the rice delphacid/planthopper attacking the ratoon crop in Texas in 2018. Be on the lookout for this exotic pest on both your main and ratoon crops. If you have any suspicions, contact me at 409-2394265 or moway@aesrg.tamu.edu.

DR. LUIS ESPINO, UCCE

Kernel smut becomes more widespread in Northern California DR. LUIS ESPINO

CALIFORNIA University of California Cooperative Extension Rice Systems Adviser, Butte and Glenn counties laespino@ucanr.edu Kernel smut is not a new disease in California rice. It was first detected in the 1980s, and it has been present in rice fields since then without causing many problems. However, in the past few years, this fungal disease has become more widespread, mostly in the northern part of the Sacramento Valley, causing concern among growers and pest control advisers. In the field, signs of the disease appear right before harvest and consist of masses of black spores that develop inside rice hulls, replacing the kernel. These masses of spores are more noticeable early in the morning, because they swell up with the dew. During harvest, the spores are disturbed and contaminate equipment, grain and soil. The spores, called chlamydospores, survive in the soil over the winter and germinate after fields are flooded for seeding the following spring. The pathogen produces primary spores, which later germinate to produce secondary spores. The secondary spores are the ones that will infect rice flowers and cause smutted kernels.

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Signs of kernel smut appear right before harvest and consist of masses of black spores that develop inside rice hulls.

Growers who have seen high levels of this disease in their fields have reported yield reductions of up to 10 percent. Research conducted in the past two years has shown that severe infections can result in reductions in milling quality and head rice yield. In some severe cases, milled kernels turned gray instead of white. Kernel smut is favored by high nitrogen levels, which is why usually headlands with aqua ammonia overlaps tend to have more infected panicles. Of our varieties, long grains are much more susceptible than medium and short grains; out of the medium grains, M-209 seems to be the most susceptible. Fungicides can be used to manage kernel smut. Products that contain propiconazole have activity against the disease, but they should be applied at mid-boot, not at the early heading stage used for control of other rice diseases. The challenge is that by mid-boot, no signs of the disease are visible. Therefore, the decision to treat or not should be based on the field history. As a guideline, research has shown that when 40 to 60 percent of panicles are infected, reductions in milling yield can be expected. RICEFARMING.COM

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