(LA Farm & Ranch - Dec. 2007)The recent USA Rice Outlook Conference, held in Orlando, Florida, provided an excellent overview on the current state of affairs in the rice industry. For me, it also provided an update on rice research activities throughout the United States. Successful rice research can have positive benefits for Louisiana rice producers regardless of where it is conducted. This research gives us new technology to improve some aspect of rice production. These improvements can come about in many different ways, including higher yields, better quality, reduced inputs (which may be directly related to lower production costs), more efficient use of inputs, and production of rice with the best environmental stewardship, which is becoming increasingly important. Research is often categorized as either applied or basic. Applied research can have positive benefits in a relative short timeframe with a fairly good chance of providing useful technology. Basic research lays the fundamental groundwork for beneficial results a little farther down the road. What follows is a brief overview of research and new technology from other states.

Mississippi

Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station scientists conduct most rice research at the Delta Research and Extension Center located near Greenville, Mississippi. There will be a new rice variety (Bowman) released from this program in the form of foundation seed for 2008. Bowman was tested as experimental number 0404191. In testing in Mississippi, the line was found to have yield potential similar to Cocodrie. The new variety also has Newrex cooking quality, which may make it advantageous for certain processing uses, such as the production of canned rice products. Bowman is similar to Cocodrie in plant height but has greater resistance to straighthead. Other research is being conducted on the use of precision agricultural techniques to optimize rice production. Of special interest here is the use of GIS technology to facilitate precision nutrient applications in rice fields. This work is focused on developing effective techniques to apply different amounts of nutrients within a field based on the specific requirements of a specific area within the field. If successful, this will have economic as well as environmental implications.

Missouri

Missouri rice researchers are looking at the benefits and potential disadvantages of using poultry litter as a nitrogen source in rice production. Potential benefits include economic advantages. Areas of concern include the possibility of adding excessive levels of phosphorus to a rice field. Another area of research is the development of a simple method – a yardstick – to determine mid-season nitrogen needs in a rice field. The theory is that by putting a yardstick between the drill rows then determining how many inches can be seen on the yardstick from a given distance will provide information on the rice plants’ growth and development up until that time. This could be highly correlated with available nitrogen. This simple measurement might then provide useful information on how much nitrogen should be applied to optimize growth, development and yield from that point on until harvest maturity.

Texas

One area where Texas rice researchers are putting a great deal of time and effort is in trying to develop varieties that use water more efficiently. While water availability is an issue in all rice-growing areas, it is especially critical in the Texas rice belts where urbanization is putting more demands on limited water resources. This is also an area where ratoon crop production is important. These breeding efforts are focused on developing varieties that will be somewhat longer in maturity cycle but produce much higher yields than conventional varieties. The theory here is that where you will have to use more water on the first crop, if yields are high enough, you will not have to produce a ratoon crop. Thus, the overall production scheme will have lower water demands. Texas researchers are also looking at making inter-specific crosses in rice to bring in new germplasm to the current narrow gene base of U.S. long-grain varieties. This research falls into the more basic areas as described earlier. If successful, this research could have positive benefits for the rice industry in the future.

While all of these projects might not have direct implications in Louisiana rice production, they will add to the sum total of knowledge needed for continued success in the rice industry.

Permission granted by B. Leonards (LA Farm & Ranch) on December 10, 2007, to republish article on www.lsuagcenter.com.