Annual Rice Field Day
The industry-wide Rice Field Day is scheduled for Wednesday, August 25, 1999 at the Biggs Rice Experiment Station. Registration begins at 7:30 a.m. The general session is from 8:30 to 9:15 a.m. with a presentation from James W. Wells, past Director Cal EPA, DPR and the presentation of the California Rice Industry Award.
The field tours of the breeding, weed and other areas will be from 9:30 a.m. to 12 noon with lunch following. Posters will be available for viewing from 7:30 a.m. until after lunch. The Rice Experiment Station is located north of Biggs, CA at 955 Butte City Highway (Hwy 162) about 2.5 miles west of Highway 99.

Rice Blast Situation
Small patches of Leaf Blast have recently been found in several fields in the Maxwell and Willows areas. No other blast has been found elsewhere. Spore traps set up by Dr. Robert K. Webster in the Maxwell area have also found a few spores. Weather during the middle of July was less favorable for blast development, but slightly more favorable at the end of July and beginning of August. Hopefully, the weather will be less favorable in the coming weeks and the disease will not be a problem.
Zeneca Ag Products has sponsored a Rice Disease Hotline, in cooperation with Dr. Robert Webster (UC Davis) and Dr. Marlin Brandon (Rice Experiment Station), to provide weekly updates on the rice disease situation. It also provides the latest spore trapping and weather information. This information is up dated on Monday mornings and is available by calling 1-800-791-5337. Check this hotline for the latest information.
Rice is rapidly approaching the boot stage and should be heading soon. Boot split and heading are susceptible stages for the rice blast disease. Once we pass these stages the crop will be less susceptible.
Quadris, a new fungicide manufactured by Zeneca Ag Products, recently received its California registration for the control of Rice Blast. It is a protective type fungicide that must be applied prior to infection to be effective in controlling the disease. The label recommended timing for panicle blast protection is the mid-boot to boot split stage. A second application may be applied on at the 60-90% panicle emergence (heading) stage, if necessary. Check the label for specific information.
Since very little disease has been observed, and few spores have been collected, and weather conditions have not been overly favorable for disease development the situation looks good for minimal disease development. Nevertheless, we must continue to observe the crop and weather conditions and respond if the situation changes.

Drift Video
Drift concerns with herbicides have been an issue for many years in rice. It was a major issue in the late 1960's when propanil drift and/or lift-off was shown to be a problem on Prunes. More recently drift has been a concern with other herbicides. Drift concerns have been and probably will continue to be an issue in agriculture. The National Coalition on Drift minimization as part of its educational program has produced a 29 minute video entitled "Straight Talk about Minimizing Spray Drift - A Guide for Applicators." I have a copy of this video if anyone wants to borrow it or you can order copies yourself. Up to nine copies are available for free by contacting Andrew Hewit, Stewart Agricultural Research Services, Inc. at (660) 762-4240.

Weed Control Problems
Weed control has been a challenge in recent years for many different weeds in rice due in large part to weed resistance. Broadleaf and sedge resistance to Londax has become a major problem since it was first identified in 1993. More recently (1996) some watergrass populations have been identified as resistant to several grass herbicides. Rotational use of other herbicides with different modes of action has helped with these problems, but the available herbicides don’t control all the problem weed species. Other herbicides and herbicide resistant crops are being developed and will help us, but none are the silver bullet that will solve all of our problems.
In my opinion, not all of our weed control problems are due to resistance. Some may be due to water management and/or weather-related factors. Previous water management studies have shown that complete field drainage and/or shallow water (~ 1-2 inches) encourages weed development and growth. In our UC IPM for Rice publication continuous flooding at about 4-5 inches is recommended to encourage rice establishment and to discourage weeds. Greater use of these practices could help moderate some of our weed problems.
This year, however, the windy conditions in the early season made it difficult to maintain desired water levels. Winds blew rice water to the down-wind side of the field and exposed the soil to air. Encouraging weed germination and growth. Cooler temperatures may have also reduced herbicide activity or delayed weed germination times and contributed to our weed problem. Straw incorporation in the fall may also be contributing to greater weed problems.

Certified Rice Seed Applications Due
Certified rice seed applications are due 8 weeks after planting (not July 15) and may be mailed directly to the California Crop Improvement Association (CCIA) at UC Davis or submitted to the Colusa CE office (458-0570). The address for CCIA is:

    Parsons Seed Certification Center
    University of California
    Davis, CA 95616.

Blank forms are available at either office.

Cool August Temperatures
Many people have been wondering if the cool temperatures during the first week of August will cause a blanking problem for the rice crop. Blanking is more of a problem when temperatures are below 55°F 7 to 21 days prior to heading when the pollen is developing. According to weather records from Weather News, nighttime temperatures did not fall below 55°F at the Maxwell and Codora Stations, but did get down to 52°F at Woodland. These temperatures should not cause much of a problem. Other locations may have had slightly different temperatures.

Publications
UC Catalog of Publications, Videos and Slide Sets
This 92 page catalog lists the publications produced by UC advisors, specialists and faculty covering many topics of interest to farmers, ranchers, landscapers, educators, homeowners and others. It is available at your local U.C. Cooperative Extension Office (Colusa CE Office 530-458–0570), the UC Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources (1-800-994-8849) or the Internet http://commserv.ucdavis.edu/webcatalog.

Free Online UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications
Over 100 UC publications ranging in length from 2-12 pages and covering crop and livestock production, pest management and home gardening topics are available for free on the Internet at: http://anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/specials.ihtml

Rice Grain Quality Workshop
A rice grain quality workshop is scheduled for September 2, 1999 at the Heidrick Ag History Center in Woodland. Registration forms are due by August 27, 1999. For further Workshop information contact Cass Mutters, Butte County CE at (530) 538-7200, or Jim Thompson, UC Davis at (530) 752-6167.