University of California to tackle problem of weedy rice

The problem of Weedy rice is faced by farmers around the world.

The University of California (UC) to develop a weedy rice strategy by funding million dollars to Whitney Brim-DeForest, a UC scientist, and a full-time rice researcher.

The problem of Weedy rice is faced by farmers around the world. Weedy rice and cultivated rice are very similar to each other the only difference being that the grain falls off from the weedy plants before harvest, unlike cultivated rice.

Brim-DeForest said she will use the funds to hire a full-time technician to monitor a research study at UC Davis on weedy rice.

Her team also includes advisors like Luis Espino and Michelle Lindfelder-Miles, and UCCE specialists Bruce Linquist and Kassim Al-Khatib. They will conduct a five-year demonstration of the project to tackle this problem for the farmers.

The scientists plan to demonstrate two potential weedy rice management strategies: rotate the rice crop with sorghum and create a "stale seedbed," in which the field is irrigated and plants allowed to germinate, and then killed with an herbicide before the desired rice is planted.

"We want to demonstrate this in the field," Brim-DeForest said. "In theory, it works. We want to show growers how long it will take to get weedy rice out of their fields."

"The establishment of this endowed chair strengthens the long-standing public-private research partnership UC Cooperative Extension has had with the California rice industry," said UC Agriculture and Natural Resources associate vice president Tu Tran, when the endowment was announced in 2016. "Continued research advancements will help the rice industry maintain its reputation for supplying a premium product for domestic and world markets."