RICE DISEASE UPDATE

It seems the worst disease affect rice of late is self-inflicted. Newpath drift has been widespread. When the wind gets high, the farmers start getting nervous about getting their fields sprayed, we don’t always use good judgment. I know that the longer we wait, the bigger the grass gets. But if we can’t keep it in the field, the big grass is going to seem like a rather small problem. The general misconception is that Newpath does not drift. However, we have tracked cases for more than a mile. The earliest fields are reaching midseason and the impact of Newpath drift onto conventional rice is now even greater. Significant yield losses will be observed if the drift occurs after the rice reaches midseason. We need to be especially cautious around conventional rice.

In regard to true disease problems, rice blast month (June) has officially started with the first reports of leaf blast. Leaf blast has been found on fields of CL 151 and CL 142 in central Arkansas and in southeast Arkansas. Finding leaf blast in June is normal and it allows you to prepare for managing the disease early. A deep flood is the most effective control measure to prevent or reduced neck blast or panicle blast later in the season. Fields should be flooded as deep as possible (4-6 inches on the shallow side) until maturity. Scouting now is critical to be able to manage for the disease later.