By Forrest Laws
Delta Farm Press
Dr. Nick Bateman says billbugs are not a new pest in rice. Growers have seen them in levee rice for years and on the levees or in rice patties they can’t keep enough water on to keep them from drying out during the growing season.
What’s new is that many growers are trying furrow-irrigated or row rice where portions of the field may remain dry as water moves across the field or out the end of the field if a levee isn’t in place to retain the water.