VARIETY SPOTLIGHT

STARTERS 2023 – SOUTH LOUISIANA AND TEXAS

Warm weather and a quick dry out from earlier in February, has allowed planting of the 2023 crop to begin in south Louisiana and Texas. Planting began in the last week of February and has been at a fast pace since then.

Favorable weather conditions have allowed growers to get many fields planted. I estimate that we may be close to having 40 to 50 percent of the acres planted in south Louisiana by next week. Planting in Texas is not going nearly as fast as Louisiana, but planting is progressing there as well. PVL03 is by far the most popular Horizon Ag variety planted up to this point.

If you would like me to look at something or have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Corey Conner
District Field Representative
337-249-9523

One of the unique benefits of CLL16 is that it is broadly adapted to perform across the southern rice region. From the Missouri Bootheel to the west of Houston, Texas, CLL16 has consistently shown it can yield with or better than top-performing varieties and even hybrids. 

Southern rice farmers looking for the “complete package” in a rice variety don’t have to search any further than CLL16. In addition to high yield potential, its high milling quality, desirable cooking characteristics and industry-leading blast resistance continue to drive more and more demand for the variety.

It’s also become Horizon Ag’s top variety for row rice fields, performing consistently in row rice environments because of its early vigor, excellent standability and disease package.

CLL16 is a few inches taller than typical Clearfield varieties but appears to be moderately resistant to lodging. It contains the Pi-ta blast resistance gene and is resistant to blast. It also contains the CRSP2.1 gene and is resistant to narrow brown leaf spot and moderately susceptible to Cercospora infection on the stem. It is moderately susceptible to sheath blight and bacterial panicle blight.

At Horizon Ag Field Days last summer near Harrisburg, Arkansas, farmer Zack Tanner from Bernie, Missouri, described CLL16 as his “go-to” variety on his fields not under contract for seed production. “We’ve had some great yields with CLL16 over the years we’ve planted it,” he says. “Even when I’m thinking about furrow irrigated rice, it’s a variety I like to plant because of its consistency, blast tolerance, height, vigor and yield potential.”

Another farmer speaking at the field day, Nolan Evans from Weiner, Arkansas, said he grew CLL16 last season for the first time after confirming its potential with University of Arkansas rice specialist Jarrod Hardke. “He (Hardke) said it was a good variety, so  instead of planting a few acres in it, I planted half my farm in CLL16,” says Evans. “I really like it.”

“This is a variety yielding 200-plus bushels per acre consistently across a wide range of geographies while offering the advantages of a Clearfield variety at a lower seed cost than hybrids,” says Dr. Tim Walker, Horizon Ag general manager. “You’ve heard us say CLL16 is the complete package. We can always make improvements, and we continually strive to be better, but CLL16 is truly as close to the complete package as we’ve seen in a pure line variety. It’s got high yield potential, good milling package quality, rice export quality, good disease tolerance, good standability, good early season vigor and herbicide tolerance.”

0% APR Financing 

Southern rice growers can take advantage of 0% APR5, 6 financing for their Horizon Ag rice seed and BASF crop protection purchases through partnerships with either John Deere Financial or Rabo AgriFinance for the 2023 crop. 

Both programs are available through Sept. 30, 2023, with a maturity date of Dec. 31, 2023. Contact your BASF Authorized Retailer or Horizon Ag Authorized Retailer for more information about these special offers.

See full program terms and conditions at BASF-Grower-Finance.com. 

Horizon Ag Productivity App Available

Horizon Ag has created a mobile app that will be a valuable resource for rice farmers as you begin planning for variety selection and planting. 

The Horizon Ag Productivity App provides easy access to seeding rate information, a drill calibration tool and other decision-making features for 2023 Horizon Ag Clearfield and Provisia varieties. This app also makes it easy to connect with retailers in your area who sell top-performing Horizon Ag varieties.

The app is available by searching “Horizon Ag” in the App Store or Google Play.

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