(02/03/17) BATON ROUGE, La. – Three LSU AgCenter researchers and a Louisiana rice farmer were honored recently (Jan. 31) at the 20th Annual National Conservation Systems Conference.

Don Groth, a plant pathologist at the LSU AgCenter H. Rouse Caffey Rice Research Station, was recognized as Rice Researcher of the Year for his work on rice diseases and fungicides.

Rick Mascagni, an agronomist at the LSU AgCenter Northeast Research Station, was named Corn Researcher of the Year, and Ron Levy, AgCenter soybean specialist, was named Soybean Researcher of the Year.

Richard Fontenot, of Evangeline Parish, was named Rice Farmer of the Year. He also was recognized at the USA Rice Outlook Conference in December as Rice Farmer of the Year.

Groth was among several LSU AgCenter researchers to make presentations at the conference, an event organized by MidAmerica Farmer Grower magazine.

Groth advised farmers to be mindful of guidelines to reduce diseases in their crop. Farmers should only use a fungicide if it’s needed. “A lot of times, that late disease development doesn’t cause that much damage,” he said.

Variety selection can reduce or delay disease, he said, and blast-susceptible varieties should be used in fields with good pumping systems.

Farmers considering the use of alternate flooding systems, such as irrigated row rice, should use varieties with good resistance against blast, Groth said.

Diseases will eventually adapt and become resistant to fungicides. Groth said a field in Acadia Parish had a rice crop last year that was infected with sheath blight that could not be controlled with Sercadis. But the field had been treated for five years consecutively with the fungicide.

“We’re hoping we’ll have a new fungicide later this year,” he said, referring to Amistar Top that will have activity against resistant sheath blight.

Steve Linscombe, AgCenter rice breeder at the Rice Research Station, said the new Provisia rice system being developed at the station will offer another means of controlling red rice and weedy rice that cannot be controlled with herbicides on the market. “This is a very important step into the future,” he said.

The system will use the Provisia herbicide that was recently given a federal label by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

“This is going to be a great supplement to the Clearfield system,” said Alvin Rhodes of BASF.

Linscombe said Clearfield rice, developed at the Rice Research Station, is no longer as effective in the control red rice as it was when it was released in 2002.

A line of Provisia rice likely to be selected for a variety release has superior quality traits with an exceptionally long grain. A hybrid of Provisia also is in development at the Rice Research Station, he said.

AgCenter weed scientist Eric Webster said Provisia will have to be used in rotation with soybeans to control weedy rice. Effective control may require a four-year rotation, with a combination that could include Provisia, Roundup Ready soybeans and Clearfield rice.

Webster said Provisia may be rendered ineffective if it is tank-mixed with other herbicides, especially propanil.

AgCenter agronomist and extension rice specialist Dustin Harrell said his studies have shown that 140 pounds of nitrogen per acre on Provisia rice is the optimum fertilizer amount.

Nitrogen for the variety CL153, the replacement for CL151, should not exceed 130 pounds per acre, he said.

A commodities market analyst, Dennis Delaughter, told rice farmers that oversupply is suppressing prices, but he said a slight price increase is possible in the short term if U.S. rice acreage decreases this year.

Richard Fontenot, of Evangeline Parish, at left, was recognized as Rice Farmer of the Year at the 20th Annual National Conservation Systems Conference. Presenting the award is John LaRose, publisher of MidAmerica Farmer Grower magazine, organizer of the event. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter

LSU AgCenter soybean specialist Ron Levy, left, is honored as Soybean Researcher of the Year at the 20th Annual National Conservation Systems Conference. Presenting the award is John LaRose, publisher of MidAmerica Farmer Grower magazine, organizer of the event. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter

LSU AgCenter plant pathologist Don Groth, left, is honored as Rice Researcher of the Year at the 20th Annual National Conservation Systems Conference. Presenting the award is John LaRose, publisher of MidAmerica Farmer Grower magazine, organizer of the event. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter

LSU AgCenter agronomist Rick Mascagni, left, is honored as Corn Researcher of the Year at the 20th Annual National Conservation Systems Conference. Presenting the award is John LaRose, publisher of MidAmerica Farmer Grower magazine, organizer of the event. Photo by Bruce Schultz/LSU AgCenter