- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Rice farmers are encouraged to monitor vigilantly for a rise in yield-reducing armyworms, reported Jake Abbott in the Appeal-Democrat.
UC Cooperative Extension rice advisor Luis Espino said the most recent numbers were low but are expected to climb in the next few weeks. The pest can quickly devour rice foliage down to the water level. The crop may recover, but armyworm presence can lead to yield reduction.
“I've heard numerous stories where growers were used to some...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Water uncertainties delayed planting of the California rice crop, but it finally began the last week of April, reported Tim Hearden in Capital Press. The National Agricultural Statistics Service predicts 408,000 acres to be planted to rice in California in 2015.
“Planting is going full swing right now,” said Luis Espino, UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) rice crop advisor with UC Cooperative Extension in Colusa County. “With the water situation early on, everyone was expecting water deliveries to be a little...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Rice planting in California is well underway and taking place more quickly than expected, reported Heather Hacking in the Oroville Mercury Register.
Despite early worries about water supplies, Cass Mutters, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Butte County, said 25 to 30 percent of rice acreage is planted; statewide about 10 to 15 percent of acreage has been planted. According to the article, rain in March delivered enough water to Lake Oroville for full water contracts to be honored.
Things could have turned out a lot worse, said
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
Despite light rain earlier this week, it appears the Butte and Glenn county rice industry is getting seeds in the ground during the ideal planting window, reported the Chico Enterprise Record.
The ideal time for planting rice is May 1-15, said Randall "Cass" Mutters, UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Butte County. As the date gets later, farmers will end up with a later harvest. Fall weather is more unpredictable and farmers could end up harvesting in the mud. Last year, farmers were still planting rice at the end of May.
"I would say overall (this year) we're...
- Author: Jeannette E. Warnert
When the calendar said it was time to harvest rice last September, the crop wasn't ready. Over the winter, UC Cooperative Extension advisor Randall "Cass" Mutters tried to solve the mystery of the untimely immature rice, reported the Oroville Mercury-Register.
Since the problem was ubiquitous in the Sacramento Valley, Mutters deduced the weather was the culprit. He crunched weather numbers, studying humidity, nighttime and daytime temperatures, and uncovered a plausible explanation.
Average temperatures were comparable to 2009, when rice growers enjoyed...