AgFax Rice - Louisiana

By AgFax Media LLC, AgFax.com

OVERVIEW

Rice is heading in southwest Louisiana on a very limited basis in February-planted fields. More rice is at PD in Texas and Louisiana.

Disease is becoming a bit more apparent in south Louisiana.

Fields are moving to flood on a wider basis in the Midsouth. Rains over the last week have delayed progress in places and also kept fields too wet in the upper Delta to consider applying fertilizer right away.

Delays in Arkansas have kept at least some growers from taking fields to flood, especially in areas that were hit hard in early May by excessive rainfall and river flooding. Growers either didn't have levees up before the flooding or lost levees to the rising waters. Enough rain has fallen since then to prevent levee building over the last couple of weeks. This has put farmers behind the 8 ball where they need to apply pre-flood nitrogen and pump up the ground. See comments by Jarrod Hardke.

Dustin Harrell, Louisiana Rice Extension Specialist, LSU Rice Research Station, Crowley:

"A big part of our rice in southwest Louisiana is at PD now and we have a small amount of February-planted rice that's actually heading. A little more sheath blight and blast are being reported. It's still nothing bad or widespread, but that at least signals us to start scouting."