Louisiana, USA
July 5, 2018
Attendees at the Horizon Ag Louisiana Field Day listen as Michael Fruge, Horizon Ag District Field Representative for Louisiana and Texas, discusses the acreage growth of varieties like CL153 in the region
Farmers attending the 2018 Horizon Ag Louisiana Field Day at Richard Farms near Kaplan, Louisiana, had a chance to see how the Provisia™ Rice System, with Horizon Ag variety PVL01, is helping farmers take back fields where production potential was lost due to weedy rice.
They also received updates on the latest Clearfield® variety developments, including newer varieties gaining acreage and promising experimental lines.
“Farmers are telling us their Provisia rice fields are the cleanest fields on their farms,” said Michael Fruge, Horizon Ag District Field Representative for Louisiana and Texas. “It’s really taking out the weedy rice.”
Dr. Sunny Bottoms, Horizon Ag Senior Technical Services Representative, said similar results are being reported in Arkansas with Provisia. “After seeing its performance, farmers there are calling saying they will have more next year. It's the cleanest fields on their farm. Even with one of the grassiest crops in Arkansas that I’ve seen in a long time, the Provisia Rice System has provided effective, economical control.”
There are about 20,000 acres of PVL01 planted in south Louisiana this year — a good launch for a new technology.
“It’s very different from Clearfield, and we’ve had a learning curve in terms of managing PVL01 and Provisia herbicide,” said Fruge. “What we have learned in 2018 will help us in 2019, particularly since the technology was put on a lot of fields farmers were not able to put into rice production anymore because of losing too much yield to weedy rice. They tried the Provisia Rice System and it did a great job, not only [on] weedy rice but grass as well.”
Looking ahead, an experimental Provisia variety being tested this year, PVL08, is advancing toward commercialization and may eventually offer farmers the same level of weed control with even higher yield potential. In three years of statewide testing in Louisiana, PVL08 has averaged a 10 percent yield increase over PVL01, along with very low chalk and better milling yields. Seed of the PVL08 variety could be available for farmers’ fields by the 2020 season.
(Left to right) Dr. Sunny Bottoms, Horizon Ag Senior Technical Services Representative, listens as Michael Fruge, Horizon Ag District Field Representative for Louisiana and Texas, describes how the Provisia™ Rice System is enabling farmers this season to take back fields where yields have been hurt by weedy rice.
Clearfield® Developments
Field day attendees also received an update on the Clearfield® technology, from new varieties gaining acreage in the state, to proven performers and experimental lines advancing through the Horizon Ag pipeline.
Fruge noted that in just two years, CL153 has become the top Clearfield variety planted in south Louisiana because of its performance potential and agronomic benefits. CL172, a semi-dwarf long grain variety that offers great standability, a strong disease package and outstanding yield potential and grain quality, also is gaining acreage.
These varieties join CL111, popular in Louisiana because of its consistent performance and early maturity, and CL151, which consistently offers the best yields of any inbred Clearfield variety.
In the wings are Horizon Ag experimental lines like CLX1111, CLX1133 and CLX4083. CLX1111 and CLX1133 are both long-grain types from the University of Arkansas that have shown potential as strong yielders with excellent milling quality. CLX4083, a promising long-grain line from Mississippi State University, has performed very well in bacterial panicle blight situations and in the heavy clay soils of the Mississippi Delta and is attracting a lot of interest as it advances in the pipeline.
In addition, Horizon Ag has a Clearfield aromatic “Jasmine” variety – CLJ01 – currently in seed production with milling trials scheduled this year. The variety, developed at the LSU AgCenter, offers the ease and cost-effectiveness of Clearfield varieties, along with high quality and improved yields.
Dr. Adam Famoso, LSU AgCenter rice breeder, said CLJ01 has out-yielded Jazzman 2 over the last three years in statewide testing. “If you are working with a Jasmine-type rice, I think this is something you will be interested in checking out,” he added.
Dr. Tim Walker, General Manager at Horizon Ag, told farmers that Horizon Ag understands the challenges they are facing and is committed to providing them with solutions to improve their potential for production and profitability. “We have great Clearfield technology that is getting some age on it and are thankful to our breeding partners at LSU, Arkansas and Mississippi State who continue to make crosses, work on varietal development and push the limits. With respect to Clearfield varieties, we firmly believe that with the launch of the Provisia Rice System, they will be a tool in our toolbox for years to come.”
Continuing to improve rice varieties for the Southern growing region, with improved quality and technology, is essential if the United States is to reverse the rice acreage decline experienced over the last 20 years. “We are fortunate to be partnered with university breeding programs, BASF, and our retail partners, to be part of the solution for U.S. rice farmers in the South, to find our space in this rice world and thrive as we have for some 100-plus years down here in south Louisiana,” said Dr. Walker.
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