The LSU AgCenter is weeding out pesky distractions to rice crops by developing two new varieties of herbicide-resistant grain.The two new varieties, CL111 and CL261, are part of the AgCenter’s “Clearfield” technology. The Clearfield rice is resistant to certain herbicides, allowing farmers to use the chemical to get rid of “red rice,” a noxious weed that competes with rice crops, said Steve Linscombe, senior rice breeder at the AgCenter.Red rice is of the same genus and species as rice, Linscombe said, making it difficult to find herbicides that control the weeds but don’t harm commercial rice.With the development of Clearfield rice varieties, farmers can now use herbicides to rid themselves of the problems caused by red rice, like the red tint its grains give when mixed with regular rice grains.”You want a nice, big bowl of white rice grains, and you’ve got grains in there that are a different color,” Linscombe said. “At first glance, it could look like a contaminant.”The Clearfield technology is about 7 years old, Linscombe said. The two newest varieties come with an added benefit — a faster maturation rate.The new varieties will mature quickly and have a high yield, which comes with several financial and agricultural benefits, Linscombe said.Financially, a faster maturing crop means rice fields don’t need to be kept flooded as long, which saves money. There is also less time for a natural disaster to cause trouble.”Here in South Louisiana, if we can get the rice crop out earlier, there’s less potential of hurricanes causing problems,” Linscombe said.A faster maturing crop also allows farmers to spread out harvests, which makes the work easier for farmers, said Fred Zaunbrecher, a rice and soybean farmer from Rayne, La., who plans to use CL111, the long-grain variety, in 2010.”You like to spread out the harvest season,” Zaunbrecher said. “You can’t mechanically harvest or dry [the rice] very fast … so we can plant two or three varieties of rice on the same day and have them mature at different times to stagger the harvest.”Zaunbrecher said the Clearfield technology makes it easier to combat red rice than the methods he previously used.”We used a water-irrigation method called ‘pinpointing,'” he said. “As soon as the rice had a substantial root system, we [created] a light flood, which allowed rice to grow and allowed red rice to terminate.”But Zaunbrecher said that method was time-specific, and timing the flood incorrectly by as little as 24 hours could mean having red rice to compete with the crop for the whole growing season.Zaunbrecher has been slowly phasing Clearfield varieties into his operation and said the rice has become much better as the technology has advanced.”We’re gradually fading the conventional varieties out,” he said. “When Clearfield was first developed, the yield potential wasn’t near the conventional varieties, so we held back.”The two new varieties have been in development since 2002. But the grains will first be available for growing in the 2010 season because of the lengthy and painstaking nature of the rice-breeding process, Linscombe said.But the long years of breeding work will benefit the AgCenter financially.”The Clearfield technology … is a patented technology, and the AgCenter receives royalties based on the number of acres [on which] this type of rice is grown,” Linscombe said.- – – -Contact Ryan Buxton at [email protected]