HORIZON AG REGIONAL REPORTS

Strong Start Across the Mid-South — Blast Pressure Building Fast

Mississippi and North Louisiana

It has been a busy couple of weeks here in Mississippi and North Louisiana. Most, if not all, of my territory has finished planting, with maybe a spot or two remaining. All early-planted rice has gone to a permanent flood. Weed pressure has been limited so far, which means residuals are doing their job. A lot of fertilizer and herbicide applications were made before the rains the week of May 18. Spraying has been a challenge at times due to high winds. Farmers also worked hard to pull and pack levees to take advantage of the rainfall and avoid running wells.

In terms of varieties this year, CLL19 is by far the most popular in Mississippi due to milling consistency. In North Louisiana, there’s not a lot of long grain, but medium grains and aromatics are playing a big role, with CLM04 and CLJ01 being the most planted.

With wet and humid conditions persisting across the territory, conditions are favorable for blast development. Scout your fields now, particularly if rice is approaching heading. See Maria's update below for detailed management recommendations.

As a reminder, please save the date for our Horizon Ag Field Day on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, beginning at 5:30 p.m. at Richard Farms, 5632 Louisiana HWY 700, Kaplan, LA 70548. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions.

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South Louisiana

Current Conditions and Management Recommendations

Current conditions are highly favorable for rice blast. Persistent cloud cover, frequent rain, long dew periods, high humidity and moderate temperatures are creating an ideal environment for disease pressure. If conditions hold, progression could escalate quickly within one to two weeks.

Inoculum is already present in several fields. Some Avant fields have started flowering, making this a particularly sensitive window for neck blast. Medium-grain varieties are showing higher susceptibility, though symptoms are being observed across essentially all materials in affected areas. Low severity scores now should not be read as low risk given the forecast. Varieties with Pi-ta are currently limiting progression even where small lesions are present, but scouting remains critical regardless of what you planted.

Horizon Ag varieties with Pi-ta blast resistance:
PVL03 PVL04 PVL05 CLHA03 CLL16 CLL19

Varieties without Pi-ta:
PVL06 CLL18 CLM04 CLM05 CLJ01

For full variety details, visit https://www.horizonseed.com/varieties

In addition, apply fungicide when 50–70% of panicles have emerged from the boot. Later applications lose effectiveness. Under heavy pressure, an earlier application may help reduce inoculum load. Strobilurin fungicides (Quadris^®, Quilt Xcel^®, Flint^® Xtra) are the only labeled options and work best preventively.

Scout continuously, especially fields approaching heading with blast history, susceptible varieties, dense canopies or excessive nitrogen. Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

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There’s An App For That!

The Horizon Ag Productivity app provides easy access to critical management recommendations and tools, including seeding rates, fertilizer recommendations and other suggested management practices to help you get the most out of our varieties. Updated for 2025, the app is available in the App Store and on Google Play.

Whether you are a long-time Horizon Ag customer or growing our Clearfield and Provisia varieties for the first time, the Horizon Ag Productivity App can be a valuable tool. Available in the App Store or Google Play.

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