Comments from the South Farm Tour stop at the Simon RWW test site in Acadia Parish

We had an excellent crowd at the final stop of the LSU AgCenter south farm tour in Crowley, La this morning. For those of you that could not attend, here is what was discussed.

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More chinch bugs and a reminder about pest spectrum of rice insecticide seed treatments

This morning I received another call about chinch bugs infesting seedling rice – this is the fourth call I’ve had this season, so I want to remind field scouts to be on the look-out for this pest. So far they have been reported in Jeff-Davis, Evangeline and St. Landry Parishes. In this blog posting I also provide a reminder about which insects are controlled by the different seed treatments.

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Rice stand observations at Acadia Parish RWW demo site

Today Anna and I met with County Agent Barrett Courville and Crop consultant Rustin Gilder at the Acadia Parish demo site which is farmed by Glen and Wes Simon. We were pleased to find a healthy, rigorous stand of rice. Much of the field is already at tillering stage just two weeks after seedling emergence! This location was planted with XL745 at #25 seeding rate.

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Planting rice water weevil demo sites in Evangeline and St. Landry Parish

Last week we planted the rice water weevil demonstration test sites in Evangeline and St. Landry Parish. Both locations are the hybrid variety XL745. At each location we will be comparing the seed treatments CruiserMaxx, Dermacor X-100 and NipsitInside to an untreated check.

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Planting at Acadia Parish rww demo test site.

On March 16, 2011 we planted the Acadia parish demo test site. This blog posting includes a description of the treatments, field maps and plans for gathering data this season.

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Making demo test plans in St. Landry, Acadia and Calcasieu Parish

The last couple of days we have traveled the state to meet with cooperators for the rice water weevil demonstration tests. We met with cooperators in Acadia, Calcasieu and St. Landry Parishes.

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Planting time is approaching – met with cooperators in Evangeline Parish today

It’s almost that time of year again. Today Anna and I met with County Agent Keith Fontenot and Evangeline Parish farmer Kenneth LaHaye to discuss plans for the 2011 rice water weevil demonstration test. The field we will plant had some weedy passes, where a nozzle was accidentally turned off on the boom. This is a good example of why properly-timed burndown herbicides are so important.

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NipsitINSIDE insecticide Experimental Use Permit approved by EPA

On Feb 7, 2011, US EPA granted the Experimental Use Permit (EUP) for NipsIt INSIDE® Insecticide for seed treatment use in rice. The EUP is for the states of AR, LA, MS and TX for a total of 40,000 acres for 2011 (and 40,000 acres for 2012 used prior to 6/23/2012). This includes 5,000 acres in Louisiana. Rice water weevil and grape colaspis are target pests on the label. According to the EUP, use of this product is restricted to dry-seeded rice in drill-planters. The seeding rate cannot exceed 150 lbs/acre. The active ingredient in NipsitINSIDE is clothianidin which belongs to the neonicotinoid class of chemistry (the same class as CruiserMaxx).

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NipsitInside seed treatment from Valent

Valent has been working with Mike Stout and other university scientists across the US to develop a new insecticide seed treatment for rice water weevil management in rice. This product is called NipsitInside and contains the active ingredient Clothianidin. Clothianidin is a neonicotinoid insecticide.

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