Over the next two weeks, local Valley dealers will be making adjustments to the Circles for Rice center pivots. These changes include updating various hardware to best meet the needs of each individual field. Members of the Circles for Rice team will be installing soil moisture monitoring equipment in the fields. Currently, 4 of the 9 Circles for Rice commercial fields have been planted; 0 Circles for Rice research fields have been planted. So far, planted hybrid seed include RiceTec Clearfield XL729, XL745, and XP746. All commercial fields are using Command during pre-emergence. Once this is applied, growers will apply light irrigation to activate the herbicide and "settle" the seedbed so there is good soil/seed contact and moisture around the seed.
The Circles for Rice team is beginning to schedule irrigation based on crop modeling, soil moisture data, and field data. Weekly scouting of the commercial fields has also begun.
Because activity has picked up in the United States after a long winter, I will be updating the blog on a more frequent basis.
Questions and comments are welcome!
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