by Rob Williams
Texas A&M AgriLife Research and the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will host the 76th annual Beaumont Rice Field Day July 11 in Beaumont.
The latest in rice breeding, plant physiology and techniques in disease and insect management will be on display at this year’s Beaumont Rice Field Day at the Teas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont. 
(Michael Miller/Texas A&M AgriLife)
The free event will be held from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont, 1509 Aggie Drive.
“Empowering Texas Rice: Challenges and Solutions” will feature the latest research from agency experts during morning and afternoon field tours and an indoor program. A barbecue luncheon will be held at noon.
One general Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education unit will be available for private, commercial and non-commercial pesticide applicator license holders.
Morning field tour topics
Tours begin at 8 a.m. and will feature the following topics:
- Specialty rice breeding and digital rice — Stanley Omar Samonte, Ph.D., AgriLife Research rice breeder and professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Beaumont, and Yubin Yang, AgriLife Research senior biosystems analyst, Beaumont.
- Rice physiology and inbred breeding — Lee Tarpley, Ph.D., AgriLife Research plant physiologist and professor, and Shyamal Talukder, Ph.D., AgriLife Research rice breeder and assistant professor, both in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Beaumont.
- Nutrient management and entomology — Fugen Dou, Ph.D., AgriLife Research scientist and professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Beaumont, and Lina Bernaola, Ph.D., AgriLife Research entomologist and assistant professor in the Department of Entomology, Beaumont.
- Disease and weed management — Shane Zhou, Ph.D., AgriLife Research plant pathologist and professor in the Department of Plant Pathology and Microbiology, Beaumont, and Sam Rustom, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension agronomist and assistant professor in the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Beaumont.
Indoor program agenda
The indoor program begins at 10:45 a.m. Ted Wilson, Ph.D., director of the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Beaumont and professor in the Department of Entomology and the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, will provide an overview of the center’s research. Other topics and speakers will include:
- A vision for Acetyl-CoA carboxylase, ACCase, resistant rice in Texas — Rustom.
- Starting regional and international collaborations to improve the management of the planthopper rice delphacid in Texas and neighboring states — Bernaola.
- Challenges and solutions to improving U.S. long-grain rice quality and yield — Wilson.
The afternoon tour will showcase current research funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program on organic rice.
For more information, contact Brandy Morace at 409-752-2741 or bmorace@aesrg.tamu.edu.
