arkansas rice update › farm-ranch › crops-commercial...just trying to get fields to flood, this...

Arkansas Rice Update Jarrod Hardke, Trent Roberts, Chase Floyd, Nick Bateman, Gus Lorenz, Ben Thrash, & Scott Stiles June 19, 2020 No. 2020-14 www.uaex.edu/rice

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No Season Like Midseason

“That’s the way that the world goes ‘round,

you’re up one day and the next you’re down, it’s half

an inch of water and you think you’re gonna drown,

that’s the way that the world goes ‘round.”

It’s been a whirlwind the past week. Optimal

weather conditions with heat and sunshine.

Spraying, fertilizing, flooding, some last gasp rice

planting, and a big soybean planting push have kept

the days plenty busy.

Now we seem to be potentially staring at a

week’s worth of rain starting Sunday. Depending on

whether you’re in the northern or southern area of the

state the timing of your forecast differs slightly.

Either way, we’re looking at 1-2 inches of rain over

the next 7 days (Fig. 1).

For those fields that have been flooded, this will

hopefully allow us to turn some pumps off. For those

just trying to get fields to flood, this can provide a

big help in getting there. For those with rice ready to

flood but not quite where you can make it happen,

we may get pushed a while until we find dry ground

again. There’s definitely more rice out there that has

long been ready to flood, and not, than I like to see

this time of year. But again, we’ve had to try and do

everything at the same time here lately.

There are plenty of fields out there beginning to

show herbicide flash and injury post-flood. We

wrote about Delayed Phytotoxicity Syndrome (DPS)

last week and those calls continue to come in, some

severe. Others are more typical ALS flash (Fig. 2).

In many situations, plants will grow out of the injury,

but if severe and persistent, lower the flood.

Complete draining will be the last option if rice

begins to die.

Fig. 1. 7-day precipitation forecast, NOAA.

Fig. 2. Herbicide flash after flooding.

http://www.uaex.edu/rice

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Midseason Nitrogen (N) Timing

The majority of rice acres in Arkansas currently

enrolled in the DD50 Rice Management Program are

starting to enter reproductive growth. Table 1 shows

acres reaching ½” internode elongation (IE) which

occurs approximately one week after the onset of

reproductive growth (beginning internode elongation

– BIE; green ring).

Table 1. Percent of acres reaching ½” internode

elongation (IE) by week (based on fields in DD50).

Week Percent of Acres

June 15 to June 21 9.1%

June 22 to June 28 30.2%

June 29 to July 5 39.3%

July 6 to July 12 14.4%



It’s important to note that our recommendations

for midseason N timing have changed in recent

years. Data from 2012-2018 has shown how we can

improve the timing of our midseason N applications

compared to previous recommendations.

The current recommendation is to apply

midseason N after beginning internode elongation

AND at least 4 weeks after preflood N was

incorporated by the flood. You must meet both

conditions before applying midseason N to

maximize your benefit!

Fig. 3 shows the percent of optimum yield based

on timing of midseason N after the flood was

established and indicates that 4-5 weeks after

preflood N is incorporated is the optimum time to

apply midseason N. Fig. 4 is another way of looking

at the same data, but based on days after BIE. In Fig.

4, ½” IE corresponds with 7 days after BIE.

Again, the absolute earliest to ever apply

midseason N is BIE, but only if it’s been at least 4

weeks since the flood was established to incorporate

the preflood N.

Fig. 3. Percent of optimum yield for midseason

nitrogen (N) timing based on days after preflood

N incorporated (flood establishment date).

Fig. 4. Percent of optimum yield for midseason

nitrogen (N) timing based on days after beginning

internode elongation (BIE; green ring).







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Rice Billbug Identification & Scouting

We have observed a large amount of rice billbug

activity in row rice across the state this week. Fields

that have been in continuous row rice are at greater

risk of having billbug infestations. Prior to the

growing season observations of larvae and adults

were found overwintering in the field, approximately

4-6 inches beneath the surface (Fig. 5).

Fig. 5. Adult rice billbug in the field; larval and

pupal stages of rice billbug.

When billbugs emerge, the adults move to a

viable food source, such as bermudagrass, on ditch

banks and turn rows. They will remain there until the

rice crop begins to tiller. Once the rice becomes

desirable, the adults will move into the field and

begin to feed on the crop.

During 2019 and 2020, our peak trap catches

occurred during the first week of June, with a

dramatic increase in trap catches the following

weeks. The rice during this time period was between

3-5 tillers for both years. We believe this is the time

period when rice billbug moves back into rice.

The adults will feed by inverting themselves on

the rice and puncturing the tiller with their rostrum

(snout) (Fig. 6). Greenhouse observations show that

billbug damage can be seen 5-7 days after the adult

feeding has occurred. While scouting row rice, look

for dead tillers. The leaf blade will be brown until it

reaches the joint of the tiller (Fig. 7). Trace the

damaged tiller to the base of the plant near the soil

line and inspect for puncture wounds.

Fig. 6. Inverted rice billbug adult feeding on base

of rice tiller; puncture wounds from feeding.

Female feeding may result in oviposition, and

eggs will be laid within the leaf sheath in the base of

the tiller. Billbug eggs are cream colored and oblong

in shape, and measure approximately 2 mm in length

and 1 mm in width (Fig. 8). After the eggs hatch,

billbug larvae will feed in rice tillers as well as on the

roots and bases of tillers, causing seed heads to abort.

If egg lay and adult activity are observed, a foliar

insecticide application may be warranted. These

applications do not achieve 100% control, but could

help reduce damage. Use a high rate of a pyrethroid

such as Lambda-Cy or Mustang Maxx.







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Fig. 7. Dead tillers caused by rice billbug adult

feeding.

Fig. 8. Dimensions of rice billbug eggs, and tiller

where egg was extracted.

Rice Market Update

After an almost 90 cent rally that began in the

final week of May, the September futures contract

has retreated to familiar territory. The chart below is

a 3-month daily chart. Until the breakout that started

May 26, the September contract consistently found

solid support at $11.80 and resistance at $12.20.

Today, the September contract sits exactly in the

middle of that trading range—waiting. Perhaps

waiting for the June Acreage report when NASS will

hopefully provide us with better insight on another

challenging spring planting campaign.

September ’20 CME Rice Futures.

Technical traders and chart watchers might argue

that the September daily chart has all the makings of

a bearish pennant formation. Below is a textbook

example:

Bearish Pennant Chart Formation.







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Surprisingly high acreage in the upcoming June

30 NASS report could certainly be the catalyst for a

downward move in new crop rice futures. Applying

the bearish pennant diagram to the September futures

chart, would point to eventual new contract lows

around $11.21. Not a prediction, but a break lower

out of the current consolidation / trading range

should be closely watched.

Calendar:

June 25 – Federal Crop Insurance Final Planting

Date for Soybeans - Following another crop.

June 30 – USDA-NASS Acreage, Grain Stocks,

Rice Stocks, Agricultural Prices.

June 30 – Deadline to complete enrollment in

ARC/PLC for the 2020 crop year.

Note: Although program elections (ARC or

PLC) for the 2020 crop year remain the same as

elections made for 2019, all producers need to

contact their local USDA Farm Service Agency

(FSA) office to sign a 2020 enrollment contract.

FSA will send reminder postcards to producers

who have not yet submitted signed contracts for ARC

or PLC for the 2020 crop year. Producers who do

not complete enrollment by close of business local

time on Tuesday, June 30 will not be enrolled in

ARC or PLC for the 2020 crop year and will be

ineligible to receive a payment should one trigger for

an eligible crop.

Reminder: Signup is underway for the

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program (CFAP)

and will extend through August 28, 2020. As of June

15th, almost $48 million in CFAP payments had been

distributed to Arkansas producers. USDA Service

Centers are open for business by phone appointment

only. Please call your office prior to sending

applications electronically. Information on how to

apply for CFAP can be found at this link:

Coronavirus Food Assistance Program

Text & Email Alerts Now Available for

Fields Enrolled in DD50 Rice Management

Program

See more information in the article here:

http://www.arkansas-

crops.com/2020/06/17/available-enrolled-

management/.



https://www.farmers.gov/cfap

http://www.arkansas-crops.com/2020/06/17/available-enrolled-management/







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DD50 Program is Live

The DD50 Rice Management Program is live and

ready for fields to be enrolled for the 2020 season.

All log-in and producer information has been

retained from the 2019 season, so if you used the

program last year you can log-in just as you did last

year. Only field data from 2019 has been removed.

Log-in and enroll fields here: https://dd50.uaex.edu/.

Here’s an article on the DD50 program: Use the

DD50 Rice Management Program to Say Ahead in

2020.

Additional Information

Arkansas Rice Updates are published

periodically to provide timely information and

recommendations for rice production in Arkansas. If

you would like to be added to this email list, please

send your request to [email protected].

This information will also be posted to the

Arkansas Row Crops blog (http://www.arkansas-

crops.com/) where additional information from

Extension specialists can be found.

More information on rice production, including

access to all publications and reports, can be found at

http://www.uaex.edu/rice.

Acknowledgements

We sincerely appreciate the support for this

publication provided by the rice farmers of Arkansas

and administered by the Arkansas Rice Research and

Promotion Board.

The authors greatly appreciate the feedback and

contributions of all growers, county agents,

consultants, and rice industry stakeholders.

Specialist Area Phone Number Email

Jarrod Hardke Rice Extension Agronomist 501-772-1714 [email protected]

Tom Barber Extension Weed Scientist 501-944-0549 [email protected]

Nick Bateman Extension Entomologist 870-456-8486 [email protected]

Tommy Butts Extension Weed Scientist 501-804-7314 [email protected]

Gus Lorenz Extension Entomologist 501-944-0942 [email protected]

Ralph Mazzanti Rice Verification Coordinator 870-659-5507 [email protected]

Trent Roberts Extension Soil Fertility 479-935-6546 [email protected]

Scott Stiles Extension Economist 870-219-8608 [email protected]

Yeshi Wamishe Extension Rice Pathologist 870-659-6864 [email protected]



https://dd50.uaex.edu/

http://www.arkansas-crops.com/2020/03/25/management-program-ahead/



mailto:[email protected]

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