UC Rice Blog

Research conducted by Albert Fischer and James Eckert, Department of Plant Sciences, UC Davis, has confirmed that some populations of smallflower umbrellasedge from rice fields in the Sacramento Valley have become resistant to propanil. Following is a summary of their findings.

Armyworms are common in rice fields from mid-July to August. Two species can infest rice, the armyworm and the western yellowstriped armyworm. These insects build up their populations in alfalfa, other grains and grasses, and invade rice late in the season.

Up until today, I hadn't seen any blast in the area, but I got a couple of calls today of growers having to put a fungicide because of blast. We'll see if this year blast will be as bad as the past two years.

A couple of weeks ago, a PCA brought me some grassy "weeds" from a field. The plants had ligules, so they weren't watergrass or barnyardgrass. The leaves were thin and long, but did not look like sprangletop; they just looked like "elongated" rice plants.

Summary Winged primrose willow is an invasive weed that was identified in Butte County rice fields in 2011. Most infestations were along borders of fields and canals; however, this weed can thrive in the flooded environment within rice fields.