It has been demonstrated that baling rice straw immediately after harvest (called rice strawlage) greatly increases its nutritional value for livestock. Baling at 30 to 40 percent moisture can have the challenge of mold management.
Last week I got two calls regarding unusual symptoms starting to appear on ripening rice plants. In both cases, the symptoms were described as medium sized round patches turning reddish or orange. Close inspection of plants showed typical symptoms of K deficiency.
The annual Rice Field Day will be Wednesday, August 27, 2014, at the Rice Experiment Station (RES), Biggs, California. You and your associates are cordially invited to join us to observe and discuss research in progress at RES.
If the current temperature trend continues then plant maturity may be accelerated as compared to the last couple of years. The National Weather Service predicts warmer than normal August temperatures in the Sacramento Valley (http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/predictions/30day/).
