Rice Production in California (1/13)Hill, J.E., S.R. Roberts, D.M. Brandon, S.C. Scardaci, J.F. Williams, R.G. Mutters Nearly one-half the world's population depends on rice for food. An ideal climate and a high level of sophisticated technology have given rise to California's unique water-seeded method of rice production, which produces the highest average annual rice yields in the world. This publication provides an overview of the cultural system and crop management practices used by California rice growers.  Acreage and principal growing areas
Commercial rice production began in Butte County, California in 1912 and is now an important field crop in acreage and value. Rice acreage fluctuates annually according to changes in price, government programs, and changes in water availability (fig. 1). For example, rice acreage increased to over 500,000 acres in 1975 when the government removed mandatory acreage control but then declined to 308,000 acres in 1977 because of a severe 2-year drought (fig. 1). Relatively high prices led to a record 605,000 acres in 1981. World rice surpluses, low prices, and acreage reduction incentives offered by the US Department of Agriculture reduced the acreage by nearly 50 percent in 1983. Acreage typically ranges between 350,000 to 450,000 acres.
More than 90
percent of California's rice acreage is located in the Sacramento Valley;
the remainder is in the north to central San Joaquin Valley. In the southern
San Joaquin Valley rice is occasionally grown to reclaim sodic and saline
soils. The leading rice producing counties are Colusa, Butte, Sutter, and
Glenn (fig. 2).
Climate, soils, and water California rice is grown under a Mediterranean climate characterized by warm, dry, clear days, and a long growing season favorable to high photosynthetic rates and high rice yields (fig. 3). Compared to tropical and subtropical rice-growing areas, the climate is cool, but warm summer nights during panicle development, when pollen formation takes place, helps to avoid cold-induced floret sterility. Low relative humidity throughout the growing season reduces the development, severity, and importance of rice diseases. However, cool weather and strong winds during stand establishment may cause partial stand loss and seedling drift.
Rice is grown
mostly on fine-textured, poorly drained soils with impervious hardpans
or claypans. These soils are principally in three textural classes: clays,
silty clays, and silty clay loams ranging from 25 to 70 percent clay. A
few of the soils are loam in the surface horizon but are underlain with
hardpans. These soils are well suited to rice production, since their low
water permeability enhances water use efficiency. Most of the
irrigation water for California rice comes from winter rain and snow-fed
reservoirs of the Cascade, Klamath, and Sierra Nevada mountain ranges.
Less than 10 percent of rice irrigation water is pumped from wells in areas
where surface water is not available, or as a supplement to surface supplies.
The high cost of pumping well water prevents its widespread use in rice
production. Surface water and most groundwaters are of very good quality
for rice irrigation. Yields Improved varieties and cultural practices have contributed significantly to yield increases since 1955 (fig. 4). The most important of these practices include 1) more efficient nitrogen management adopted in the 1950s, 2) herbicides to control broadleaf and grass weeds adopted respectively in the 1950s and 1960s, 3) precision land leveling with laser-directed equipment widely adopted in the 1970s, and 4) development of semidwarf rice varieties introduced in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Before
1950, statewide yields were 2,500 to 3,000 pounds per acre; by the early
1990's average California rice yields exceeded 8,500 pounds per acre with
some field yields exceeding 10,000 pounds per acre. Yields from experimental
tests have exceeded 13,000 pounds per acre of paddy rice (at 14 percent
moisture).
Varietal selection A wide range of varieties is adapted to the rice-growing areas of California, made available by an aggressive, industry-funded rice improvement program. These include short-, medium-, and long-grain varieties, as well as such specialty market varieties as glutinous (also called mochi, sweet, or waxy) and aromatic types. Nearly all varieties are semidwarf and respond to high nitrogen levels. Season
length, from seeding to harvest, ranges from the very early, at approximately
a 130 days, to the late, at about 175 days. However, the naming system
and maturity group of California varieties is based on days to 50% flowering
(heading) at the relatively warm environment of the Rice Experiment Station
in Biggs, CA and season length for the same variety may vary greatly from
warmer to cooler locations in the state. Choice of variety depends on environment,
planting date, quality, marketing, and harvest scheduling. For example,
cold-tolerant very early and early varieties are selected for cooler regions
and late planting. The same varieties selected for warmer environments
may mature during extremely hot weather and produce poor-quality rice.
In
1979, the California rice industry developed a uniform naming system for
publicly developed rice varieties based on grain type, maturity, and order
of varietal release (table 1); however, privately developed varieties are
named by the proprietor. The public varieties grown in California are principally short- and medium-grain japonica
types with origins from the cooler rice climates of the northern latitudes.
Long-grain
rice, historically adapted to subtropical and tropical climates, has only
been produced on a commercial scale in California since the 1980's. Long-grain varieties grown in the southern United States are not well adapted to California's cooler environment. However, notable improvement through plant breeding has provided enough cold tolerance to achieve long-grain yields in California comparable to short- and medium-grain yields. In addition, marketing opportunities play a major role in determining the grain type produced and less than 2 percent of California's rice production is long grain. Although long grain types dominate US rice production, medium grain production prevails in California (fig 5), California rice production by grain type.
More information on choosing California rice varieties
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