By Jeremy Hebert
LSU AgCenter Extension Agent
With rice fields finally growing and fields at permanent flood, rice farmers need to be on the lookout for diseases. There are many critical areas in rice production and disease management happens to be the one that farmers face at this point in the season.
Whether it is sheath blight, blast, smuts, or cercospora, scouting needs to start now to ensure that the rice fields stay healthy and yields can be maximized. It is also important to know what diseases the rice variety is susceptible to.