The annual Rice Field Day will be Wednesday, August 31, 2022, at the Rice Experiment Station (RES), Biggs, California. We cordially invite you and your associates to join us for this event. The purpose of the Rice Field Day is to allow rice growers and others to observe and discuss research in progress at RES. Rice Field Day is sponsored by the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation (CCRRF) and the University of California (UC). We also seek and receive support from many agricultural businesses and plan a rice equipment vendor display.

Following is a brief outline of the Rice Field Day program:

7:30 - 8:30 a.m.     REGISTRATION AND POSTER VIEWING

8:30 - 9:15 a.m.     GENERAL SESSION

• CCRRF Annual Membership Meeting

• Rice Research Trust Report

• California Rice Industry Award

9:30 - Noon            FIELD TOURS OF RICE RESEARCH

• Variety Improvement

• Disease Resistance

• Insects and Control

• Weeds and Control

Noon                      LUNCHEON CONCLUDES PROGRAM

Lunch will be served in the New Research Building with seating at the tables on the lawns under the canopies. The program will begin at 8:30 a.m. with a General Session that serves as the Annual CCRRF Membership Meeting. Posters and demonstrations will be in place during registration until after lunch. Field tours of research will emphasize progress in rice variety improvement, disease, insect, and weed control. The program will conclude at noon with a lunch that includes rice.

We hope to see you on August 31st. The RES is located at 955 Butte City Highway (Hwy. 162), approximately two- and one-half miles west of Highway 99 north of Biggs, California.

I have been getting several messages about off-type plants that are starting to head. They are taller, paler, and could be confused with watergrass. Some of them have a flag leaf that is yellow and stands out. These plants are most likely infected with bakanae. To confirm, slice the crown and see if it is rotting. If the crown looks healthy, then the plant may be an off-type, variety contamination, or weedy rice.

Plants infected with bakanae appear taller, are light green, and will produce a panicle. However, the panicle will blank out.

To confirm bakanae infection, slice the crown of the plant. If it is discolored, the plant is infected.

I don't know why we are seeing more bakanae in the past few years. Bleaching is very effective in reducing bakanae infection. However, if the seed is held without water for more than a day before seeding, it can warm up. This increase in temperature allows any surviving bakanae spores to germinate and produce more spores, resulting in more infection. Also, bakanae can survive in the soil; it may take a few years for the disease to go under the radar again if the seed is being treated every year.

We have recently produced a series of videos on weedy rice identification in California. Each video is biotype-specific. Our UC Rice YouTube Channel also has many other recordings from our virtual meetings and webinars. 

Weedy Rice Type 1

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weedy Rice Type 2

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weedy Rice Type 3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Weedy Rice Type 4

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Weedy Rice Type 5

The UC Rice IPM Workgroup is holding a grower meeting on February 16^th to provide research updates and exhibit a new decision-support tool under development. The meeting is relevant to rice growers and other rice industry experts throughout California. This event will primarily focus on the economics of crop rotations and the decision-support tool. There will also be a short segment on the Rice IPM Workgroup (updates and next steps).  

The presenters will be Sara Rosenberg, UC Davis Ph.D. student in Horticulture and Agronomy, and Whitney Brim-DeForest, UCCE Rice Advisor.

Rosenberg will present on crop rotation economics and on the web-based cost calculator developed for rice growers to explore the costs and benefits of switching over to selected rotation crops. There will be an opportunity for attendees to ask questions and provide feedback on this decision support tool and for individuals to test it on their own. All are welcome.

“We are looking for grower and industry input for further developing this economics of crop rotations calculator”, Brim-DeForest says. “We hope to have lots of participation”. For those unable to make it in person, the tool itself will be posted on the rice.ucanr.edu website, as well as the soon-to-be-launched UC Rice IPM Workgroup website.

This in-person meeting will take place on Wednesday, February 16^th, at the UCCE Sutter-Yuba office, 142A Garden Hwy, Yuba City, from 8:30 AM-12 PM.  Registration will begin at 8:30. (2 CCA credits have been granted). This local event is FREE. For more details, visit http://rice.ucanr.edu. If you have questions, contact Whitney Brim-DeForest [wbrimdeforest@ucanr.edu or call the UCCE Sutter-Yuba office at (530) 822-7515].