Midseason Fertilizer Application Often Not Necessary In Hybrid Rice

HARRISBURG, ARK.
   Over the past several days we have seen many rice fields in the MidSouth reaching the point of permanent flood establishment. No doubt this time of year can bring some relief when it comes to managing the rice crop.
   In the previous article, a couple weeks ago, you read about nitrogen fertilizer recommendations for RiceTec hybrids. Fields are now to the point where the phone starts ringing with questions about applying a midseason application. After many years of nitrogen research on hybrid rice, the data still shows that a midseason application is often not necessary. With that being said, we tell our customers that if the field shows signs of deficiency or if the permanent flood was lost for any reason, it is a good idea to move the late season nitrogen application forward and apply the last 30 units (65 pounds of Urea) at half inch joint movement. What we don’t want to see is the rice plant going into the reproductive phase with a nitrogen deficiency. If the field appears visually healthy based on color, tabletop, and well tillered, then the nitrogen is best left to be applied just before heading.
   Also by now most of the Newpath/Clearpath applications have occurred in CLEARFIELD rice fields. As a reminder, Beyond is meant to be a salvage treatment only. It is important for all hybrid rice growers to know that if Beyond needs to be applied, it should be applied before panicle initiation, or green ring. Crop damage and yield loss have been seen, somewhat erratically, in fields where the Beyond application was applied after PI. If the situation occurs where red rice is present and has gone unnoticed until after green ring, in order to stay within the BASF Stewardship Guidelines, it is recommended to apply Beyond at that time to control the red rice regardless if plant damage and yield loss are concerns.
   On a different note, the time is coming soon for field days to begin. We would like to invite all rice growers to our field days, and encourage all to attend any field day possible to see new developments that are coming down the pipeline. Our first field day will be at the Alvin, TX RiceTec headquarters on June 24th. We also will hold a South Louisiana field day in Mowata, LA on June 30. The Harrisburg, AR RiceTec station will host a field day on August 12th as well.
   We know rice farmers have tried everything in the book when it comes to management, but something new that might not have seen will also be on exhibit this year at several field days in the area. RiceTec has partnered with Valley Irrigation to host several field days with RiceTec hybrids grown under center pivot irrigation. For the past few years, testing has shown that this management option can oftentimes be beneficial in water conservation, and RiceTec hybrids will still give economically feasible yields with little disease pressure. More information about these field days will be available soon.
   If attending a field day isn’t convenient to fit busy schedules, we encourage rice growers to at least stop by a yield trial location in their area. We are testing several new products for potential release next season. In addition to our current commercial products of XL723, CLEARFIELD XL729 and CLEARFIELD XL745, we are testing CLEARFIELD XP752 (smooth leaf), CLEARFIELD XP756 (full season), CLEARFIELD XP751 (very early season, semidwarf) as well as XP754 (full season, non-CL) and XP753 (non-CL). Any or all of these products may be on your farm next year, so stop by and take a look or call your local RiceTec rep for more information. Δ
   CHAD DUCKWORTH: Marketing & Sales Support Manager, RiceTec.