December 2020
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Weedy Rice Update
An e-newsletter from the
University of California Cooperative Extension
End of Year Report
During the 2020 season, 31 new suspected weedy rice samples were received and six were confirmed to be weedy rice. Three came from new sites in Sutter, Yuba, and San Joaquin counties. The other three came from already infested fields. Additionally, we received five samples which could not be identified and need to be tested in the lab to evaluate shattering and dormancy; results will be shared in 2021. 

A few seed fields were found contaminated with weedy rice during the seed certification process (primarily with Type 5, seen above); these fields were not approved for seed and the grain marketed as paddy instead.
Survey Completed
This summer, we conducted a survey of all weedy rice infested fields found between 2016 and 2019. The survey allowed us to update our records and determine the degree of infestation on every field. For each field, we recorded how many basins were infested and their acreage. By recording only infested basins, we now have a better estimate of the acreage infested in California. Out of 11,000 acres of inspected fields, only 2,300 acres were recorded as infested. We found that several previously infested fields seem to be free of weedy rice. This reduction is in part thanks to the efforts of many growers and PCAs implementing measures to clean up the fields, such as roguing, fallowing, and rotating crops. 
Check out the upgraded UCCE weedy rice web page by clicking below
UCCE Contacts
Luis Espino
UCCE Rice Farm Advisor
Butte and Glenn Counties
530-635-6234
laespino@ucanr.edu

Whitney Brim-DeForest
UCCE Rice Farm Advisor
Sutter, Yuba, Placer and Sacramento Counties
530-822-7515
wbrimdeforest@ucanr.edu
Michelle Leinfelder-Miles
UCCE Farm Advisor
Delta Crops
209-953-6100
mmleinfeldermiles@ucanr.edu

Kassim Al-Khatib
Weed Science Specialist, UC Davis
530-752-9160
kalkhatib@ucdavis.edu
This e-newsletter was developed by the University of California Cooperative Extension with support from the California Rice Commission.