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 and PCAs. If you need additional pamphlets, they are available at your local UCCE 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 local UCCE 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.
Author - County Director, Sutter and Yuba Counties and CE Rice and Wild Rice Advisor