There’s A New Competitor In Town

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO.
   For many years there have only been few choices when it came to purchasing hybrid rice seed and that was primarily, RiceTec hybrids. But recently the mid-South rice producing states got into the hybrid rice business as a group. It was felt that this was necessary to compete with the RiceTec varieties. In the span of just three years we have gone from no public hybrid rice varieties to a new potential hybrid line from Louisiana that is being tested in the mid-South rice growing area including southeast Missouri in 2011. In addition, Arkansas has 20+ hybrids in a yield trial this year and 67 potential hybrid combinations. So it looks as though there will be less expensive hybrid rice seed available to rice producers in the not too distant future.
   The Missouri rice breeding program has joined in this group (Arkansas, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas) both in public hybrid rice cooperative but also making hybrids in our breeding program. This does not necessarily mean we will have a line for release in the very near future but that we are learning how to produce hybrids on a small scale as part of our rice breeding program.
   The goal is to develop, produce seed, and release hybrid rice varieties that will be higher yielding, maintain milling quality along with good agronomic traits that can compete with the private rice companies. New rice variety releases for 2011
   Jazzman-2 is the latest aromatic jasmine-type variety released from Louisiana. Jazzman-2 comes with enhanced specialty characteristics that include a very strong aroma, a slender kernel, and a less sticky cooking texture more similar to that of imported premium Thai Jasmine. Jazzman-2 showed good yield potential that is similar to or slightly less than original Jazzman. The head rice milling yield of Jazzman-2 is comparable to or slightly better than Jazzman. On average, Jazzman-2 is 4 days earlier and 4 inches shorter than Jazzman. The new variety appears to be susceptible to sheath blight, bacterial panicle blight, and straighthead disorder.
   Caffey, a new medium grain variety released from Louisiana, has shown very good yield potential and in testing has consistently out yielded Jupiter and Neptune, the predominantly grown medium grains. Caffey also has shown excellent milling and grain characteristics including very high head rice milling yields and a very bold and uniform grain which is typically favored by medium grain customers. The new variety is approximately two days earlier than Jupiter and Neptune. While similar in plant height, Caffey will be intermediate in lodging resistance, less susceptible than Jupiter but less resistant than Neptune. Caffey has typical southern medium grain cereal chemistry quality and cooking characteristics. 10
   Charleston Gold, a new aromatic long grain variety released from Texas. It is a short-stalked aromatic descendent of Carolina Gold, the first rice variety grown in the U.S. It has been shown to yield almost 3000 pounds per acre more than its predecessor.
   CL152, the new Clearfield long grain released from Horizon AG, has excellent yield potential with typical southern long grain cereal chemistry quality and cooking characteristics. Like CL151 it can lodge prior to harvest. While it is relatively the same height as CL151, it has shown greater resistance to lodging. The new variety has shown slightly lower yield potential than CL151, but has consistently milled out somewhat higher head rice yields. Cl152 has shown similar reaction to sheath blight and blast disease, but has also shown somewhat better resistance to narrow brown leaf spot (Cercospora) and bacterial panicle blight diseases; as well as better resistance to straighthead disorder. The new variety is similar to CL151 in days from seedling emergence to harvest maturity.
   CL261 is an early maturing, semidwarf, medium-grain Clearfield rice variety from Horizon Ag. It will be the first commercially available medium-grain variety in the Clearfield production system. CL261 has a short-stature plant type and has averaged 39 inches in plant height and has shown good resistance to lodging. CL261 is earlier in maturity than most other medium-grain varieties, averaging 79 days from emergence to 50 percent heading. The grain is nonaromatic. Cereal chemistry characteristics for the new variety are consistent with those for other southern U.S. medium-grain varieties. CL261 is susceptible to sheath blight and blast and moderately susceptible to straighthead disorder. The new medium-grain variety has shown good and consistent yield performance in limited testing. The milling quality (whole-grain milling yields) has been exceptional, and milled grain appearance is very good.
   LAH10, is a new medium grain experimental hybrid variety from Louisiana. It is being tested for the first time throughout the mid-South rice production area.
   Promising new lines in the pipeline:
   RU0002146 is a new medium grain experimental variety being joint released by Missouri and Louisiana. It has yielded slightly higher than Jupiter and the milling quality is close to that of Jupiter.
   Mo0215035 is a new medium grain experimental variety from Missouri. It has higher milling quality scores and has had higher yields than Jupiter. It is several days earlier than Jupiter.
   RU0202195 is a new long grain experimental variety being considered for release by Missouri and Louisiana. It has yielded higher than Wells and has a higher milling quality score. It is slightly earlier than Wells. Δ
   DR. DONN BEIGHLEY: Rice Research Fellow, University of Missouri