New Weedy Rice Materials For The 2017 Season

 

Over the past year, weedy rice has become a top issue in California rice, both for individual growers and for the industry as a whole. Working together, the University of California Cooperative Extension and the California Rice Commission have come up with a set of tools to assist in getting control of this pest. Of course, none of it would be possible without the input and cooperation of the Pest Control Advisers (PCAs) and California rice growers, who are the first line of defense in dealing with weedy rice. Additional assistance in material development and funding have come from the California Rice Research Board, the California Crop Improvement Association and the staff at the California Rice Experiment Station.

 

 

A new website, www.caweedyrice.com, contains all of the most up-to-date information regarding weedy rice in California. The website covers identification, management, and weedy rice sample submission.

 

 

 

An identification pamphlet was mailed out by the California Rice Commission a couple of weeks ago to most growers andPCAs. If you need additional pamphlets, they are available at your localUCCE office. Identification posters will be distributed to Agriculture Commissioner's offices,PCA offices, and rice mills and distributors in each county in the next few weeks. They are also available at your localUCCE office upon request.

 

 

 

To report an infestation of weedy rice, a new app is also available for download from the Google Play and ITunes stores. 

 

The "Weedy Rice Reporter" app will let you send up to six pictures and aGPS location taken with your phone toUCCE RiceAdvisors so that we can confirm or rule out weedy rice. OnlyUCCE RiceAdvisors will be able to access any app submissions. We hope that the app will help us identify  infestations early so that management actions can be implemented to eliminate weedy rice from the fields.

 

 

Video: Why Invest in Canada’s Seed Future? | On The Brink: Episode 3

Darcy Unger just invested millions to build a brand-new seed plant on his farm in Stonewall, Manitoba so when it’s time for his sons to take over, they have the tools they need to succeed.

Right now, 95% of the genetics they’ll be growing come from Canadian plant breeders.

That number matters.

When fusarium hit Western Canada in the late 90s, it was Canadian breeders who responded, because they understood Canadian conditions. That ability to react quickly to what’s happening on Canadian farms is exactly what’s at risk when breeding programs lose funding.

For farmers like Darcy, who have made generational investments based on the assumption that better genetics will keep coming, the stakes are direct and personal.

We’re on the brink of decisions that will shape our agricultural future for not only our generation, but also the ones to come.

What direction will we choose?

On The Brink is a year-long video series traveling across Canada to meet the researchers, breeders, farmers, seed companies, and policymakers shaping the future of Canadian plant breeding. Each week, a new story. Each story, a piece of the bigger picture.

Episode 3 is above. Follow Seed World Canada to catch every episode, and tell us: Do you think the next generation will have the tools they need to success when they takeover? How is the future going to look?