Links to important rice-related information.

The industry uses the names to designate varieties throughout the time they are produced and often well beyond their commercial production. The variety name is important because multiple facets of the seed industry are based on the name.

One of the features of southwest Louisiana that first attracted pioneers to attempt rice production in the region was the abundance of surface water available from the bayous and rivers that flow south to the Gulf of Mexico.

Several growth stages help identify critical periods during the life cycle of the rice crop. They are generally separated into stages primarily associated either with vegetative or reproductive development.

Farm & Ranch 1(7):16 - Sept. 2005. The lines that display superior characteristics in preliminary testing are considered for advancement to our Commercial/Advanced (CA) trials, as well as the Uniform Regional Rice Nursery (URN). Only about 5% of lines entered into the preliminary trials will be advanced.

Farm & Ranch 1(5):11 - July 2005. The LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station has a long history of developing new varieties of benefit to the Louisiana rice industry.

Farm & Ranch 1(10):10 - Dec. 2005. The Louisiana Rice Research Board recently met to review funded projects, evaluate new proposed projects and make decisions on funding for 2006. The board is a 13-member group that administers funds collected at a rate of $.05/cwt on all rice produced in Louisiana. These funds can be used only for rice-related research purposes.

Farm & Ranch 1(2):10 - April 2005. Because the weed is so closely related to the crop plant, it has been impossible to develop a conventional rice herbicide that will control red rice in a rice crop without causing severe damage to the commercial crop. Therefore, research efforts at the LSU AgCenter’s Rice Research Station were undertaken to develop an “unconventional” approach to red rice control.

The LSU AgCenter has released two new rice varieties for seed production in 2008. Both varieties were developed at the Rice Research Station located near Crowley.

The fact that rice and crawfish are both produced in flooded fields during much of the production cycle sets them apart from most other agricultural endeavors in Louisiana.

The LSU AgCenter has recently approved the release of three new varieties for seed and commercial production in 2011. The three include a new jasmine type, a Clearfield long grain and a non-Clearfield medium grain.

This publication provides practical information on the use of poultry litter in rice production. Topics covered include poultry litter basics, nutrient content, testing procedures, sources and basic recommendation guidelines.

LA Farm & Ranch (Nov. 2006) - The history of U.S. rice production - The Carolina Connection.

Proceedings of Symposium on Current Status of Coastal Wetland Plants Research and Restoration Efforts at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station, November 14, 2008. Meeting overview, agenda, presentation abstracts, author information, and list of registered attendees are provided.

U.S. long-grain rice has been considered the quality standard of the world. In recent years, however, a number of both domestic as well as international customers have complained about the quality. The causes of the quality issues in U.S. long-grain rice are complex and not due to one specific factor.

The Rice Research Institute located at the Guangxi Academy is renowned for its expertise in rice research, and this is the primary purpose of our visit. We hope to establish long-term collaborative research efforts between this Chinese research facility and the Rice Station that will ultimately benefit the Louisiana rice industry.

Over the last several years, crawfish farmers have been switching to a slightly different crawfish trap – one constructed of ¾-inch square mesh wire in lieu of those made from ¾-inch hexagonal (6-sided) mesh. The square mesh traps are more durable and produce larger catches.

April 2005. Questions are often asked about which rice variety is best to plant in crawfish ponds. When rice production is a primary goal and varieties are limited to the grain producing types, few differences exist in their forage traits.

The 2007 Louisiana rice crop is out of the field for the most part. While a few fields of second crop remain to be harvested, the harvest season is pretty much completed.

Captured "red swamp crawfish" vary widely in color because of their diet and environmental conditions, but the most exotic colors occur because of mutations in the genes that are responsible for pigment formation.

2004 rice research program included breeding, biotechnology, variety testing, production and distribution of foundation seed, fertilization, soil and water management, cultural practices, weed control, insect control, disease investigations, rice drying, bird control in rice, and physiology studies. The aquaculture research program places emphasis upon production practices, forages, and multi-cropping of crawfish with agronomic crops

LA Farm & Ranch (August 2006) - Rice quality is influenced by numerous factors and the key to determining the price a grower will receive for the harvested crop.

LA Farm & Ranch (April 2006) - The 2006 rice production season will be a difficult one for Lousiana producers. Projected low cash prices for the crop, coupled with historically high input costs, will make it imperative that producers do an excellent job in managing the crop.

LA Farm & Ranch (September 2006) - Mechanized rice production in the United States had its origin on the southwest Louisiana coastal prairies in the latter part of the 19th century. Since the beginning of this industry, there has been a need for the continual development of new technology to boost the productivity and economic viability of rice production.

As we move into fall in Louisiana, the rice harvest is essentially complete. Here at the Rice Research Station, we are wrapping up our field research as well. Even as we complete our field research, our research activities do not slow down. The fall and winter months are crucial in our preparation for field research anew next season.

The 2005 Annual Research Report includes information on breeding, biotechnology, variety testing, production and distribution of foundation seed, fertilization, soil and water management, cultural practices, weed control, insect control, disease investigations, rice drying, bird control and physiology studies. The aquaculture research program places emphasis upon production practices, forages and multi-cropping of crawfish with agronomic crops.

The 2010 Louisiana rice crop was one of contrast in weather and, ultimately, in yields. The seeding of rice in southwest Louisiana begins in early March, and this early rice encountered very cool conditions.

Numerous diseases can infect rice plants. While some are typically considered major, others are normally of only minor consequence. Sheath blight is one of the diseases classified in the major category.

LA Farm & Ranch (May 2006) - Research results provide additional insight into aspects of the burrow ecology of crawfish and may help explain the generally poor yields for the 2005-2006 season.

Several farming strategies are used to produce crawfish in Louisiana. Production outcomes are largely influenced by which strategy is employed.

Louisiana rice producers are at the mercy of the weather of our state which can sometimes be detrimental to the crop even in the absence of hurricanes.

LSU AgCenter scientists conduct research in many different disciplines in an ongoing effort to develop new technology to improve the productivity, profitability and sustainability of the Louisiana rice industry.

A potential new rice insect pest has been identified in the United States. The insect has been identified as the rice panicle mite Steneotarsonemus spinki, Smiley.

A common misconception is that the only research conducted at the Rice Research Station relates to improvements in technology for Louisiana rice production. research area that holds great potential for the state is the research being conducted on the improvement of plant species and technology for restoration of Louisiana coastal areas.

The 2011 Rice Research Station Field Day was held on Thursday, June 30, at the research facility near Crowley. Each year the field day includes a tour of various research sites around the station where scientists display their research efforts and discuss results that will be of benefit to rice producers and others that work in rice production agriculture.

The annual field day was held on July 2 at the LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station near Crowley. This is an event held at this time each year that showcases technological advances that have come about from research conducted at this facility.

The LSU AgCenter Rice Research Station was established in 1909 and will celebrate 100 years of technology development for the Louisiana rice industry with its annual field day on July 1. The initial catalyst for the establishment of the research station was the need for new improved varieties for the emerging rice industry in the southwestern portion of the state.

How things have changed, and most of these changes have occurred in the past 20 years. Early on, people began to hear the word personal computer more frequently. We had no idea the possibilities this device would someday provide.

While all agronomic crops require meticulous management, rice is considerably more complex. Much of this complexity is due to the fact that rice is grown under flooded conditions for most of the growing season.

Plant breeders face a tremendous challenge in breeding varieties that will be successful for production.

Limited food resources near the end of the crawfish production season resulted in lower reproduction. Moreover, short-term feeding with high protein/high energy feeds in forage depleted ponds before crawfish burrowing seemed to mitigate the food shortages and even increased the spawning rate over those crawfish from ponds rich in forage.

Introduced by the LSU AgCenter in 2004, Ecrevisse is the first rice cultivar specifically suited as a forage crop for crawfish production.

LA Farm & Ranch (Nov. 2006) There are several reasons why a "recipe" approach might work for many commodities but is much less certain for crawfish.

Most crawfish aquaculture occurs either in permanent ponds year after year (under a monoculture strategy) or in rotational ponds where rice and crawfish are grown in sequence (rotational cropping strategy), but often not in the same physical location each year.

Topics covered in this report include: breeding, agronomy, nutrition studies, cultural management studies, Foundation Seed Rice Program, seedling vigor studies, stature reduction studies, seed treatment studies, yield enhancement studies, Panicle Blight Study, Red Rice study, rotational crops, aquaculture research, rice anther culture breeding, rice pathology studies, rice weed control, rice production economic research, biotechnology research.

Research at the Rice Research Station is conducted cooperatively by the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station and the United States Department of Agriculture. The 2002 rice research program included breeding, biotechnology, variety testing, production and distribution of foundation seed, fertilization, soil and water management, cultural practices, weed control, insect control, disease investigations, rice drying, bird control in rice, and physiology studies.

As a rice plant grows and develops, it progresses through a number of different growth stages until it reaches harvest maturity and is ready for the combine. Most of our currently grown rice varieties need approximately 120 days from seed germination until the grain is ready for harvest.