Apr 27, 2018
LAKE CHARLES, LA -- I haven’t seen it all, but I think I have now heard it all: A grower mentioned this week that the weather in South Louisiana was too nice, it needs to warm up!
While most of us are enjoying the clear blue skies and cooler temperatures, the unusual weather conditions are not as welcome to the young rice planted in the area.
In the latest edition of Louisiana Rice Notes from the LSU Ag Center Rice Research Station in Crowley, Dr. Dustin Harrell described the issues facing the crop, and the weather roller coaster that’s occurred since planting began. “Most of the rice in southwest Louisiana went into the ground during a two-week interval when we had warmer weather and dry soil. When most of that rice emerged in mid-March, the weather conditions became cool and slowed crop development down considerably.”
Another issue Dr. Harrell described was the tillering of rice planted in late February/early March, while the plants are still at a very short stature. It seems to be prevalent throughout the area and is due to the cooler conditions.
The good news is, some growers are remembering past seasons of comparable conditions and the correlation of higher yields.
The forecast is calling for a return to normal weather conditions into next week. With that, the crop should begin to take off, but most of the crop will be taking off at the same time.
Fred Zaunbrecher, a grower in Acadia parish, said, “We spaced planting over a two month period, but we may be harvesting over a two week period!”