“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”.

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.

The 2008 Louisiana rice planting season started out with a general air of optimism. However, as the rice cropping season draws to a close, it will be remembered as one of the most diverse and surprising.

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 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.

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.

Rice research scientists from the LSU AgCenter conduct many research projects at locations other than the Rice Research Station near Crowley. These off-station sites are located throughout the rice-growing regions of the state.

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 recent USA Rice Outlook Conference, held in Orlando, Florida, provided an excellent overview on the current state of affairs in the rice industry. Successful rice research can have positive benefits for Louisiana rice producers regardless of where it is conducted.

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.