Ag Fax Rice Report, May 7, 2020
Owen Taylor, Editor
OVERVIEW
Midsouth farmers have planted a significant portion of the crop since last week’s report. The weather cooperated across a wide area. The forecast does call for rain and colder conditions late in the week. That will put planting on hold again, at least in parts of the region.
More rice is going to flood in coastal Texas and southwest Louisiana.
Ashley Peters, Peters Crop Consulting, Crowville, Louisiana
“A fair amount of our rice is up to the one- to two-leaf stage, but we still have a good bit left to plant. Some growers have finished or are close to it. Others have been working on other crops and are just starting into rice planting.
“A few guys who didn’t have rice last year will plant some this year, and others who grew it in 2019 will increase their acreage this year.
“We expected that corn would replace some of our cotton acres this year, but the weather kept guys from planting as much corn as they intended. Some of that ground transitioned into soybeans, but those who grew rice moved that land into it. And one farmer who hasn’t had rice in 10 years will plant 1,000 acres of it this year.”
Dustin Harrell, Louisiana Rice Extension Specialist, LSU Rice Research Station, Crowley
“A good deal of rice went to flood over this past week.
“One of the main questions people ask at this point is how soon to expect a color change in the rice plant after the nitrogen goes out. Under good conditions, it takes about three days for rice to take on the darker green color. But if the plant has been in some kind of stress, it has to move past that stress before you see any effect from the nitrogen.
“Causes for stress vary by location and season. If the rice has been under water or the field has some underlying nutrient issue beyond nitrogen, that can affect things. Also, if herbicides slightly injured the plant, that delays rice greening up.
“Again, the plant has to recover first.
“Also, watch for algae after large applications of nitrogen and phosphorous go out. With warm conditions, algae blooms can happen quickly. Make sure the bloom doesn’t cover up the rice. It forms a mat, cuts out much of the sunlight and can kill rice plants. It’s essential to closely manage water. Applying a copper-sulfate solution will break up the algae, too, but that’s an extra cost.
“I’ll see situations where the water level goes up and then wind pushes algae to one side of the field where it bunches up. That’s definitely a bad situation.
“Parts of south Louisiana received rain yesterday, and it was heavy in places. I planted soybeans on the rice station’s south farm yesterday, and the forecast had a 40% chance of rain, which turned into 5.5 inches of rain last night (5/5). That pretty much flooded the south farm. A pretty good band of thunderstorms moved across southwest Louisiana and another passed over south-central Louisiana. Amounts varied down to a couple of tenths.”