I am back in the U.S. after traveling for two weeks in France and Spain. I visited farmers, customers, and Valley Dealers.Now, I personally need to catch back up on the rice project, and I will be visiting the fields this week. Kelly Downing has done a great job following the crop development.
Current situations growers are facing include:
- Potential damage from army worms
- Have seen some signs of damage; everyone needs to be watching their fields
- Extension service recommended using Karate
- Developing "spots" in fields believed to be related to nutrient issues
- Soil and plant samples have been collected
- Reviewing the analysis as little data exists for nutrient levels for center pivot or linear irrigated rice
- No confirmed brown spot or blast in any fields
- One pivot has gotten stuck and the grower has worked through this with the Valley Rice Team. A number of reasons contributed to this situation.
All fields are in various stages of heading.
The rice under center pivot in Texas is beginning to mature and we have begun to reduce the water applications. Unlike flooded fields, where there may be a couple of inches of water on the soil surface and the soil profile is saturated, we are typically operating between 5% to 30% depleted with a center pivot. This means there is not as much water "stored" in the soil profile and irrigation must continue to ensure a good quality crop.
Our Mid-South Field Days are next week! Come visit us in Missouri and Arkansas on August 3-5. For more information, and to register for one or more field days, please visit www.CirclesForRice.com .
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