Rice growers flock to Biggs to hear about latest research

A new genetics laboratory that's under construction at the Rice Experiment Station in Biggs was one of the first things people saw when they arrived there for the 107th annual California Rice Field Day.

The new facility "will expand our capabilities in genetics to support future variety development," said Gary Enos, chairman of the California Cooperative Rice Research Foundation.

The field day was sponsored by the CCRRF, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the University of California.

Kent McKenzie, station director, welcomed the hundreds of attendees to the field day, where they learned about the latest research on rice varieties and pest control, and honored those receiving awards for their contributions. He noted that attendees would see experimental varieties developed using the latest technology, such as ROXY, a "non-GMO" herbicide-tolerant rice.

Field day attendees toured the station aboard canopied flatbed trucks to learn about new and improved rice varieties.

Rice breeder Virgilio Andaya, director of plant breeding, oversees rice breeding for all grain types at the experiment station. He stood in a field planted to different varieties of rice as he gave his presentation, as did rice breeders Teresa DeLeon and Shyamal Talukder.

The RES staff continues to work on incorporating improved agronomic and grain-quality traits in medium-grain, "sticky" rice, the predominant type grown in California.

"The medium-grains are about 90% of the rice acreage in California," Andaya said.

A promising new experimental variety called 12Y2175 was highlighted at the field day. This high-yielding, medium-grain variety had an average yield of 10,031 pounds per acre in the 2018 UC Cooperative Extension Statewide Yield Test. The grain yield of 12Y2175 was significantly higher than any of the medium-grain check varieties. In addition, it has premium-quality parentage, and taste/texture evaluations indicate it has more premium-quality characteristics than medium-grain Calrose varieties. This experimental line is in seed increase for possible release next year.

Breeders also work on developing improved short- and long-grain rice cultivars, and specialty varieties such as aromatic rice to compete with foreign imports.

This year, the experiment station released S-202, a smooth-hulled, short-grain variety with very high yield potential. This early-maturing variety consistently outperformed S-102 in statewide tests that were conducted from 2015-18. S-202 had an average yield of 10,185 pounds per acre.

"Compared to S-102, the S-202 has a 20% yield advantage," Andaya said.

The rice breeding program is supported by the DNA Marker Laboratory, where scientists use molecular markers to select desirable genetic traits in rice varieties. Work in the lab is led by research scientist Cynthia Andaya. During the field day, she discussed the use of DNA markers for developing disease-resistant varieties and cultivars with improved grain quality.

In light of the successes of the DNA Marker Laboratory, breeders and scientists at the experiment station recognized the need to expand the capacity and capability of the lab to include basic genetics and genomics research. This led to the decision to build the new genetics laboratory. Advances in genomics and other technologies will enhance the research activities at the Rice Experiment Station in the future. This includes the CRISPR technology that has been used to target important genes in rice. This non-genetically-modified technology offers great promise as a tool in future rice improvement, breeders said.

Bruce Linquist, UC Cooperative Extension rice specialist, said researchers are trying to figure out ways to use remote sensing to improve the midseason application of nitrogen fertilizer. "We're using satellite imagery and we're also using drones and a GreenSeeker," Linquist explained. These technologies can be used to improve fertilizer efficiency and ultimately maximize rice yields.

Luis Espino, UCCE rice farming systems advisor in Butte, Glenn and Yolo counties, discussed research on managing tadpole shrimp, armyworms and other invertebrate pests and diseases of rice.

The field day included a tour of the weed research conducted at the station's Hamilton Road nursery. UCCE weed specialist Kassim Al-Khatib said the experiment station has 18 acres devoted to research on herbicides, herbicide-resistant weeds and weed control using different cultural methods including drill-seeding and continuous flood.

"Weeds are the No. 1 problem," Al-Khatib said. "To have a successful weed program, you have to control all of them."

In terms of herbicides, "We don't have that many materials available for rice," he said.

Pesticide resistance is an ongoing issue. "Resistance is a big problem," Al-Khatib said. He noted that some weeds have resistance to more than one chemical mode of action.

In addition, input costs for herbicides and other pesticides affect the bottom line.

"Growers want to use a material that's affordable," he said. "We're trying to develop materials that are cost-effective."

A new herbicide in the pipeline is pyraclonil, a PPO inhibitor manufactured by Nichino America Inc. PPO inhibitors are based on a new mode of action available for use in California rice fields to control broadleaf weeds, grasses and sedges. Previous studies showed that pyraclonil would be suitable as part of a comprehensive weed control program. Recent research demonstrated that pyraclonil could also be used as a stand-alone product. Experiments showed that pyraclonil provided outstanding control of smallflower umbrella sedge and broadleaf weeds, but did not injure the rice plants. The registrant is "filing for registration by the end of the year, for use in 2022," Al-Khatib said.

Another herbicide that is being developed is Loyant (florpyrauxifen-benzyl) by Corteva Agriscience. This post-emergence herbicide is designed to control broadleaf weeds, grasses and sedges. Loyant is an auxin-type herbicide, which represents a mode of action that does not have any known resistant weeds in California rice. In research trials, Loyant provided good weed control when applied alone, but seemed to be the most effective as an addition to existing programs.

Studies have also been conducted on the combined application of propanil (Stam, SuperWham) and fungicides. When growers apply propanil to control grasses and sedges, many are also applying fungicides to control fungal diseases. There has been uncertainty as to whether the combined application of these materials can cause crop injury. Rice Experiment Station research demonstrated that all tank-mixed fungicides with propanil were safe on rice.

The research projects receive financial assistance from the state's rice growers, who are assessed 6.5 cents per 100 pounds of rice through the California Rice Research Board. Additional financial support is provided by the CCRRF and the California Rice Research Trust.

Farmers, agricultural scientists, regulatory officials, business people and others attended the field day for a variety of reasons.

Glenn County rice grower Seth Fiack said, "I typically come to Rice Field Day to keep up on the new varieties. There's going to be a new one released next year, the 12Y2175. It has a higher yield than M-209, which is currently my major variety. That and there are promising aromatic long-grains, and a new short-grain that looks very promising, if my cooperative would offer me a contract. And then we head over to Hamilton Road to see what chemicals are going to work for next year. It's always a challenge to keep the weeds down."

Christine Wylie of Baker Creek Farming in Colusa County said, "Rice Field Day is one of my favorite events of the year. Not only do we learn a lot of information—it's like an extended family reunion to visit with the other rice farmers from California and out of state."

Braden Pisani, district representative for Assemblyman James Gallagher, R-Chico, said, "There are a lot of regulations that come out of Sacramento, so we're trying to keep up with the cutting-edge developments here at the facility in Biggs, which helps us with the bills that come up. The assemblyman is also from a rice-farming family and he has an interest in it as well from that front."

USA Rice President and Chief Executive Officer Betsy Ward said, "I like to come to this field day every year and meet with growers to find out what their situation is, and how the crop is looking."

USA Rice, based in Arlington, Virginia, is a trade organization that represents the interests of rice growers throughout the United States.

"We know how much care that growers put into growing a high-quality crop and we work every day to try to keep the markets open to sell that rice. It's been a challenging year in terms of the weather and the trade issues that we have," she said.

(Robyn Rominger is a reporter in Winters. She may be contacted at robynrominger@hotmail.com.)