News, Recommendations, Analysis
This edition covers upcoming field days, crop update, disease management, rice drying and rice irrigation survey results, a new channeled apple snail survey, and how to join the text message group. This edition and older editions can be found on the LSU AgCenter’s Rice website here: http://www.lsuagcenter.com/topics/crops/rice/field_notes
Dr. Linscombe took the photograph shown below in his plots on the Research Station. It looks like borer damage, but is severe rotten neck blast in the California variety M-206 which is very susceptible to blast. Dr. Groth said he now has rotten neck blast in M-202, CL162, and Rex. In the Field Notes supplement sent out May 21st, he reported he had leaf blast on CL151, CL152, CL162, CL182, CL261, Cypress, Jupiter, Rex, and Wells. So it is not totally surprising to see the rotten neck form on some of the same varieties.
It is clearly a year to use fungicides. As I said to Owen Taylor who writes Rice Fax, it is not a matter of whether to spray or not, but a matter of what to use, how much and when. If you need help with any of that give your local county agent a call and we will be glad to help.
Above is a photograph of Creeping Rivergrass with spots on the leaves. The disease causing them is blast, the same disease found in rice. In this instance it actually behaves as a mild herbicide slowing down the growth of the plants. I have seen the disease on many grasses over the years and this one has been confirmed by Dr. Groth who was able to isolate blast spores from the lesions a couple of years ago.