AgFax Rice - Louisiana

by AgFax Media LLC, AgFax.com

OVERVIEW

A small amount of harvest may start in southwest Louisiana over the next week. No reports of rice being cut elsewhere.

More rice is heading through the Midsouth, although a larger chunk of acreage should reach that point next week.

Some attention is being paid to Express, an ultra-early hybrid that is being evaluated in parts of our coverage area this season. Heads are already emerging in some Express acreage in Missouri that was planted in late March.

Rice stink bug numbers are picking up in early fields in the Midsouth. Counts also are somewhat high where heading grass is being swept. 

CROP REPORTS

Ashley Peters, Peters Crop Consulting, Crowville, Louisiana: "I think virtually all of our rice is to permanent flood now and we started some topdress work last week, plus took a lot of additional acres to flood. We've come a long way in a short time, considering all the delays this spring. Some of our oldest rice has been flooded a couple of weeks and we're looking around for disease, although nothing has turned up yet."

Dustin Harrell, Louisiana Rice Extension Specialist, LSU Rice Research Station, Crowley: "Nobody to my knowledge is cutting rice yet but I imagine that some combines will be running next week. More fields are being drained. A lot of rice in northeast Louisiana has gone to flood and that part of the crop is really moving fast now.

"Insect issues have slowed down. No calls about stink bugs. We did get one report of stalk borers.

"The crop looks good, especially considering everything that's happened. Some of our nightly high temperatures have been in the mid 70s, which is the point when we might be concerned about grain quality and the development of bacterial panicle blight. The mid 70s is kind of the borderline for concern, but the forecast isn't really calling for anything much higher than that over the next several days. If it does get hotter at night, that would raise concerns."