I have been hearing rumbles about grasshoppers in the Valley, mostly in grasslands. I visited a rice field last week with high grasshopper populations. Most of the grasshoppers were near field borders at a density of about 2-3 per square yard in the most dense areas.
Last year was a blast year. I first saw leaf lesions in some fields right about heading time. In other fields there were no leaf lesions, but neck blast developed later.
At our last meeting, we had some questions about the approved uses of pendimethalin in California rice. There are several products labeled for use on rice with pendimethalin as the active ingredient. As of June 2024, pendimethalin registered products (on rice) include Prowl H2O, Prowl 3.
Watergrass (Echinochloa spp.) in California rice is the most competitive weed complex. Plants can emerge under both continuously flooded conditions and flushed conditions, causing huge yield losses (up to 100% in dry- or drill-seeded systems).
I have been monitoring some fields in the Glenn and Butte County area the past two week and I have been finding some significant number of armyworms. Defoliation is not noticeable yet, at least not just by looking at the canopy. If you look under the canopy you may see some defoliation.
