AgFax Rice - Louisiana
By AgFax Media LLC, AgFax.com
OVERVIEW
Heavy rains moved through parts of Arkansas and into the Missouri Bootheel on Wednesday. But it remains dry enough in other areas that flushing has either started or is being considered. Depending on the situation, the water is needed to activate herbicides or bring up rice planted in dry soils.
Planting progress picked up over much of the Midsouth in the last week. How much more will be planted remains to be seen. Some acreage went to prevented planning but seed is still going out in parts of the region.
More rice is going to flood in the Delta states.
LOUISIANA CROP REPORTS
Dustin Harrell, Louisiana Rice Extension Specialist, LSU Rice Research Station, Crowley:
"Rice is moving along very quickly in southwest Louisiana. I've had several calls about what to do with rice that only had a starter shot of fertilizer and now is almost at green ring. They waited so long without applying nitrogen that those fields already have lost a lot of yield potential.
"At this point, you still should get the full amount of nitrogen out because you don't want to limit yield potential any more than already is the case. But you'll need to take a different approach now. Split it into two applications that are 7 to 10 days apart. Don't reduce the amount of N but don't put it all at once, either.
"We've had good growing conditions this week and a lot of rice is at green ring or nearly to it. We still have some ugly rice out there that's flooded and stressed. Overall, we won't break any records this year. Too many things worked against us – wet soils early, uneven emergence in cold soils, too much wind to apply herbicides on time and too wet to apply nitrogen when needed.
"All that cascades through the season and we will be running behind normal on one thing or another all the way through harvest. If I can point to one positive thing, there's no disease at this time.
"Some rice is still being planted in northeast Louisiana.
"A reminder: a number of local rice field days are coming up. On June 11 we'll have the Vermilion Parish rice field day at the Lounsberry Farm east of Lake Arthur on Louisiana 14, starting at 4 p.m. followed by supper at the Klondike Fire Station. And on June 12, the Acadia Parish rice field day will be held at the AgCenter Rice Research Station's South Farm starting at 8:30 a.m."
Ashley Peters, Peters Crop Consulting, Crowville, Louisiana:
"Some rice is going to permanent flood and some was just planted on Saturday or Sunday (5/25-26). I don't know how much longer growers will plant rice but at least some of those acres will move into prevented planting.
"Among growers who'll continue planting, I don't know how far they will go into June. Conditions are somewhat mixed. In places, we're about to run out of soil moisture but in other locations it's too wet to do any field work ahead of planting rice.
"In corn, guys are putting out polypipe and have started watering some. The forecast calls for a chance of rain on Thursday but accumulation will be light."