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RICE RATOONING - IRRI books - International Rice Research Institute

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COMMERCIAL RATOON <strong>RICE</strong> PRODUCTION IN TEXAS 259Table 1. Planting date effect on yields of main crop (MC) and ratoon crop (RC) ofLabelle and Lemont cultivars, Eagle Lake, Texas, 1985. aPlanting date13 Mar28 Mar19 Apr1 May13 MayHarvest date Days to maturity Yield (t/ha)Labelle Lemont Labelle Lemont Labelle LemontMC 24 Jul 24 Jul 133 133 5.8 9.4RC 18 Sep 18 Oct 56 86 2.4 3.2Total – – 189 219 8.2 12.6MC 24 Jul 31 Jul 118 125 6.0 9.5RC 5 Oct 18 Oct 73 79 1.7 3.5Total – – 191 204 7.8 13.0MC 14 Aug 14 Aug 117 117 5.8 8.6RC 18 Oct 8 Nov 65 86 1.4 2.2Total – – 182 203 7.3 10.9MC 23 Aug 26 Aug 114 117 6.1 8.1RC 18 Nov 19 Nov 87 85 1.3 1.5Total – – 201 202 7.5 9.7MC 4 Sep 6 Sep 114 116 5.2 7.7RC 18 Nov 5 Dec 75 90 0.6 0.5Total – – 189 206 5.8 8.2a M. O. Way, Texas Agricultural Experiment Station, Beaumont, Texas, unpublisheddata.Skybonnet is superior to Labelle in main crop yielding ability and appears tobe equal or superior in ratooning ability. When grown under a high level ofmanagement, Lemont has a main crop yield potential significantly higher than thatof any other Texas and Louisiana cultivar. When seeded early, Lemont also hassuperior ratooning ability (Table 1). Lemont is expected to be the most widelyplanted cultivar in Texas and Louisiana in 1986.Planting datePlanting dates that result in the main crop maturing after the end of August lead toinferior or inconsistent ratoon crops. Planting late-maturing cultivars (140 plus d)before the recommended planting date (15 Mar-15 Apr) does not increase thechances of harvesting the main crop before the end of August; the coolertemperatures before mid-March only lengthen the time to maturity. Plantingrecommended cultivars 15-31 Mar may sometimes produce lower main crop yieldsthan 1-15 Apr plantings due to cool spring temperatures, but planting at earlier datesincreases the chances of harvesting in time to optimize the ratoon crop.A recommended cultivar harvested by 15 Aug usually will produce a ratooncrop in 2/3 to 3/4 of the time needed for the main crop. The ratoon crop yield canreach 1/3 of the main crop yield. The effect of planting date on main crop and ratooncrop yields of Labelle and Lemont cultivars are shown in Table 1. Even thoughLemont matures 10-14 d later than Labelle, it consistently produces higher maincrop and ratoon crop yields. Planting on 30 Apr or later results in lower ratoon cropyields.Main crop harvestingField experience has shown that cutting lower than the height necessary to removethe main crop grain has no advantage. Normal cutting height is 45-60 cm. Cutting

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