If you don’t have anything nice to say, you can sit next to me. The mid-week rain brought even more than we bargained for, eliminating most all chances of planting anything before the next forecast rain chance. Sunday night through Monday night look tough yet again.
If conditions open after that, a good run can take us a long way in planting progress. However, our most similar recent years (2013, 2014, 2019, 2020) never did allow a huge wide-open run. Some other years have allowed 30-40% jumps in just a week, but it would be unique if we were allowed that this year.
Where we actually stand now, as of Monday 4/18, is just 9% planted. That number may be slightly higher in the upcoming 4/25 report, but it will change very little. On Monday (4/25) the report will be for Week 16 of the year.
Looking back in time, if we are around or just over 10% planted, the next closest year for that low in Week 16 is 2008 at 16%, 1997 at 19%, and 1993 at 6%. That means we’re currently looking at the slowest planting progress since 1993. Since 2008 we’ve never been below 23% planted at this point in the season.
So, again, nothing nice to say. Remaining hopeful we can head into May on a planting run though.
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Table 1. U.S. Rice Planting Progress, 2022.
State |
April 17, 2022 |
Last Week |
Last Year |
5-Yr Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| State | Percent Planted | |||
| AR | 9 | 4 | 24 | 34 |
| CA | – | – | – | – |
| LA | 73 | 64 | 73 | 80 |
| MS | 11 | 7 | 34 | 28 |
| MO | 1 | 1 | 23 | 21 |
| TX | 73 | 60 | 78 | 71 |
Source: USDA-NASS.
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Rice Yield Potential by Planting Date
Looking at planting progress, most everyone has a lot of rice left to plant. With more rain in the immediate forecast, the last few days of April may be our first chance to really get going. So, as we stare at moving into May, it’s time to talk about performance by planting date.
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Figures 1 and 2 show the percent of optimal grain yield for selected cultivars across a range of planting dates in 2020-2021 at Stuttgart (Rice Research & Extension Center) and Colt (Pine Tree Research Station).
Figures 3 and 4 show the same data but instead grouped into categories of long-grain (LG) varieties, medium-grain (MG) varieties, and LG hybrids. These groupings help to show more general trends that are often the topic of conversation.
Picking the right cultivar is the first step as we get later, but also timely management becomes more critical. A rapid accumulation of DD50 units (heat) means we have fewer days to accomplish management tasks, and risk of yield loss increases if we aren’t timely.
Fig. 1. Percent of optimum grain yield by planting date for selected cultivars from small-plot planting date studies at Stuttgart, AR. Click Image to Enlarge
Fig. 2. Percent of optimum grain yield by planting date for selected cultivars from small-plot planting date studies at Colt, AR. Click Image to Enlarge
Fig. 3. Percent of optimum grain yield by planting date for long-grain (LG) varieties, medium-grain (MG) varieties, and LG hybrids from small-plot planting date studies at Stuttgart, AR. Click Image to Enlarge
Fig. 4. Percent of optimum grain yield by planting date for long-grain (LG) varieties, medium-grain (MG) varieties, and LG hybrids from small-plot planting date studies at Colt, AR. Click Image to Enlarge
