Gene Movement between Rice (Oryza sativa) and Weedy Rice (Oryza sativa) — aU.S. Temperate Rice Perspective

Rice production in the U.S. is conducted under temperate climatic conditions and consists entirely of irrigated lowland systems. California, with its relatively cool climate, produces primarily japonica (42) medium-grain rice in water-seeded, aerial planting systems (80). These planting practices are particularly well suited to California’s monoculture rice production on fields that have been precision leveled and bordered with permanent levees. The southern U.S. with its relatively warmer climate, produces mostly tropical japonica (42), long-grain rice (80). In Missouri, Arkansas, Mississippi, north Louisiana, and Texas, rice is typically drill-seeded, whereas much of the Gulf Coast area in southwest Louisiana is water-seeded. Rice in Texas and southwest Louisiana is typically ratoon-cropped (80). Most rice produced in the southern U.S. is rotated with other crops such as soybean, wheat, corn, or cotton, and occasionally with aquaculture of crawfish.