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© 2006 Plant Management Network.

Accepted for publication 22 March 2006. Published 23 May 2006.

Ratoon Rice Response to Nitrogen

Fertilizer
Impact Jason A. Bond, 1373 Caffey Road, Rice Research
Statement
Station, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Rayne
PDF version
70578; and Patrick K. Bollich, 2310 Ben Hur Road,
for printing Central Research Station, Louisiana State University
AgCenter, Baton Rouge 70820

Corresponding author: Jason A. Bond. jbond@agcenter.lsu.edu

Bond, J. A., and Bollich, P. K. 2006. Ratoon rice response to nitrogen

fertilizer. Online. Crop Management doi:10.1094/CM-2006-0523-02-RS.

Abstract
Field research was conducted for 2 years to determine the N
fertilizer application rate producing maximum ratoon rice grain
yields. The long-grain rice cultivars Cheniere, CL161, Cocodrie,
and Cypress were grown using a delayed-flood, drill-seeded
production system. Immediately following harvest of the main
crop, N fertilizer at rates of 30, 60, 90, or 120 lb/acre was
applied as urea. No ratoon rice lodging was observed in any site-
year at any N fertilizer application rate. Ratoon days to 50%
heading was delayed 1 day when the N fertilizer application rate
was increased from 60 to 90 or 120 lb/acre. Ratoon rough rice
yield increased significantly from 2390 to 2710 lb/acre as the N
fertilizer application rate increased from 30 to 90 lb/acre, but
increasing the N fertilizer application rate from 90 to 120 lb/acre
did not improve ratoon rough rice yields. No ratoon rice lodging
was observed in any site-year at any N fertilizer application rate.
In this study, the N fertilizer application rate producing
maximum ratoon rice yields in the Gulf Coast area of the United
States was 90 lb/acre.

Introduction
Over 3.2 million acres of rice (Oryza sativa L.) were planted
in the United States in 2005 with production concentrated in
Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, and Texas
(13). While the rice acreage in the United States is small
compared with that of other crops such as corn (Zea mays L.) or
soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr], rice is an extremely important
crop in areas of the southeastern United States, especially in
Louisiana and Arkansas, which accounted for 65% of the total
United States rice acreage in 2005.
Increasing rice grain yields per unit of area is one approach to
improving total rice production (17). Ratooning, the practice of
harvesting grain from tillers originating from the stubble of a
previously harvested crop (main crop), enhances rice grain yields
without increasing land area (12) because it provides higher
resource-use efficiency per unit of land area and per unit of time
(17).
Research indicates that ratoon rice productivity is influenced
by N fertilization (1,12,19). Bahar and De Datta (1) reported
ratoon rice grain yield increases of 450 lb/acre as the rate of N
applied to the ratoon crop increased from 0 to 54 lb/acre. Ratoon
rice grain yields of both ‘Labelle’ and ‘Lebonnet’ increased with
increasing N applied to the ratoon crop (12).
Rice has been ratooned in the Gulf Coast areas of Florida,
southwest Louisiana, and Texas since the early 1960s (9), but
research focused on improving recommendations for ratoon rice
in these areas is limited. Current Louisiana recommendations for
ratoon rice production suggest application of N at 75 to
90 lb/acre immediately following main-crop harvest if harvest
occurs prior to August 15 and establishment of the ratoon-crop
flood immediately following N fertilization (16). For ratoon rice
production in Texas, recommendations for reflood timing and N
fertilization are based on soil type (10). Research addressing
management of ratoon rice is vital to improving total rice
production in the rice-growing areas of the Gulf Coast. The
objective of this research was to determine the N fertilizer
application rate producing maximum ratoon rice grain yields.

Two Locations, Four Cultivars, and Four Ratoon N

Rates
Experiments to determine the ratoon rice response to N
fertilizer application rate of four rice cultivars were conducted in
2003 and 2004 at the Louisiana State University AgCenter Rice
Research Station near Crowley, LA, and at an on-farm site near
Lake Arthur, LA. Soils at both sites were a Crowley silt loam soil
(fine montmorillinitic, thermic Typic Albaqualf). Crowley silt
loam is the most common soil type in the rice-growing area of
southwestern Louisiana. Results from soil tests taken each site-
year are summarized in Table 1. Soil analysis was performed by
the Louisiana State University Soil Testing and Plant Analysis
Laboratory. A summary of procedures used can be found at the
laboratory's website.
Table 1. Chemical properties of soil at field sites.
Crowley Lake Arthur
Chemical property 2003 2004 2003 2004
Water pH 7.1 6.7 5.0 5.4
P, ppm 38 20 104 54
K, ppm 69 66 71 112
Ca, ppm 1293 1087 564 1694
Mg, ppm 221 242 80 309
Organic matter, % 1.32 1.4 1.51 1.31

The long-grain rice cultivars Cheniere, CL161, Cocodrie, and

Cypress were drill-seeded on 24 March 2003 and 2004 at
Crowley, and 27 March 2003 and 23 March 2004 at Lake Arthur,
at a seeding rate of 100 lb/acre and a depth of 0.75 inch.
Agronomic characteristics and genetic background information
of the rice cultivars are shown in Table 2. All experiments were
drill-seeded using a small-plot grain drill. Standard agronomic
and pest management practices were implemented throughout
the growing season to maximize yields (11). Individual plots
consisted of 12 rows measuring 25 feet in length at Crowley and
12 rows measuring 20 feet in length at Lake Arthur. Phosphorus
and potassium were applied based on soil test results at a rate of
30 and 60 lb/acre, respectively, prior to tillage in the spring.
Nitrogen was applied to the main crop at 165 lb/acre as urea
immediately prior to flood establishment. Plots were flooded to
an approximate depth of 3 to 5 inches when rice was at the four-
to five-leaf stage at both locations. At maturity, plots were
drained approximately 2 weeks before harvest. Main-crop rice
was harvested with a small-plot combine at a moisture content of
approximately 20% using an 18- to 24-inch cutting height. Main
crop harvest dates were 30 July 2003, and 4 August 2004, at
Crowley and 6 August 2003, and 9 August 2004, at Lake Arthur.

Table 2. Agronomic characteristics and genetic background of

rice cultivars evaluatedx.
       Height Tillering Days to 50% Pedigreey
(inches) heading
Cheniere 94 High 83 Newbonnet /
Katy / 3 / L-202 /
Lemont // L-202
CL161z 99 High 82 Cypress M2
Cypress // L-202 /
Cocodrie 94 High 81
Tebonnet
Cypress 94 High 84 L-202 / Lemont
x
   The data and information were obtained from Steve Linscombe
and Xueyan Sha, Louisiana State University AgCenter Rice
Research Station, Crowley, LA.
 y Pedigrees are represented by the parent lines with the orders
of crosses indicated by slashes: "/" = first cross; "/" = second
cross; and /3/ = third cross.
 z CL161 is an induced mutant of the cultivar Cypress.

Experimental design was a randomized complete block with a

factorial arrangement of four rice cultivars and four ratoon N
fertilizer application rates with four replications. Nitrogen
fertilizer at rates of 30, 60, 90, or 120 lb/acre was applied as urea
immediately following main-crop harvest and before flooding of
ratoon rice. The ratoon flood was established 1 day following N
fertilizer application. Ratoon days to 50% heading was
determined by calculating the time period from main-crop
harvest until 50% of rice had visible panicles. Lodging of ratoon
rice plants was visually estimated on a scale of one (erect) to nine
(prostrate). At maturity, ratoon rice was harvested with a small-
plot combine at a moisture content of approximately 20%.
Ratoon rice harvest dates were 21 October 2003, and 4
November 2004, at Crowley and 5 November 2003 and 8
November 2004 at Lake Arthur. Percent grain moisture was
measured and rough rice yield was adjusted to 12% moisture
content.
All data were subjected to the Mixed Procedure (18), with
locations and years being used as random-effect parameters
testing all possible interactions of cultivar and N fertilizer
application rate. Years, locations, replications (nested within
years), and all possible interactions containing these effects were
considered random effects; all other variables (rice cultivar and
N fertilizer application rate) were considered fixed effects.
Considering year or combination of year and location as
environmental or random effects permits inferences about
treatments to be made over a range of environments (5,8). A
similar statistical approach has been successfully used by other
researchers (4,8,15). Type III Statistics were used to test all
possible fixed effects or interactions between the fixed effects and
least square means at P ≤ 0.05 were used for mean separation.

Ratoon Rice Maturity and Grain Yield

Main-crop rough rice yields were estimated across site-years
at 8180, 8040, 8240, and 8170 lb/acre for Cheniere, CL161,
Cocodrie, and Cypress, respectively. Furthermore, no lodging of
ratoon rice was observed in any site-year. Analysis of the
interaction between cultivar and ratoon N fertilizer rates was not
significant for ratoon days to 50% heading (P = 0.39) or ratoon
rough rice yield (P = 0.25). The main effect of cultivar averaged
across N fertilizer rate was not significant for ratoon days to 50%
heading (P = 0.14) or ratoon rough rice yield (P = 0.88).
Therefore, data in Table 3 are presented as the main effect of N
fertilizer rate averaged across cultivar.

Table 3. Effect of N fertilizer rate on ratoon days to 50%

heading and rough rice yield at Crowley and Lake Arthur,
LA, in 2003 and 2004.
Ratoon
Days to 50% rough
N applied headingx rice yieldx
(lb/acre) (days) (lb/acre)
30 38 b 2390 c
60 38 b 2550 b
90 39 a 2710 a
120 39 a 2800 a
x
   Means followed by the same letter in a column are not
significantly different at the 5% level.

Increasing the N fertilizer rate from 30 to 60 lb/acre or from

90 to 120 lb/acre had no effect ratoon days to 50% heading
(Table 3). Increasing the N fertilizer rate from 60 to 90 lb/acre
delayed ratoon days to 50% heading by 1 day. While the influence
of N fertilizer rate on ratoon days to 50% heading was slight, the
N fertilizer rate had a significant effect on ratoon rough rice
yield. As the N fertilizer rate increased from 30 to 90 lb/acre, the
ratoon rough rice yield increased significantly from 2390 to
2710 lb/acre (Table 3). Increasing the N fertilizer from 90 to
120 lb/acre did not improve ratoon rough rice yields.
Although the delay in ratoon maturity as N fertilizer rate
increased from 60 to 90 lb/acre was significant, a 1-day delay in
maturity would probably not influence harvestability or ratoon
rice yields. However, longer delays in ratoon maturity could have
some practical implication. In areas of the United States where
rice is ratooned, the growing season prior to the onset of
unfavorable temperatures is not long enough in every year to
allow maturation of the ratoon grain. A decline in temperature
and daylength as the ratoon crop is developing could produce
negative impacts on pollination, grain filling, ratoon rough rice
yield and milling quality. Furthermore, the months of September
and October, when the ratoon crop is developing, are also the
months when the production area is most susceptible to tropical
weather systems. Therefore, delays in ratoon maturity of 3 to 4
days could result in significant yield loss in years when low
temperatures or tropical weather systems occur before the ratoon
crop is fully developed.
Cultivars evaluated in this research responded similarly to N
fertilizer rate. Although the similar pedigrees of these cultivars
(Table 2) may explain the consistency in their response to N
fertilizer rate, these four cultivars were chosen because they were
either grown on large acreage in Louisiana or were newly-
released cultivars. When this research was initiated in 2003,
Cocodrie and Cypress represented 83% of the rice acreage in
Louisiana (J. K. Saichuk, personal communication). CL161
acreage in Louisiana increased from approximately 11000 acres
in 2003 to over 100,000 acres in 2005. Cheniere was released in
2004 and was planted on 10% of Louisiana rice acreage.
The response to N fertilizer rate reported here was similar to
that reported by Bahar and De Datta (1) and Mengel and Wilson
(12). These researchers also reported increases in ratoon rice
yields with increasing N fertilizer rate. Bahar and De Datta (1)
reported the optimum N fertilizer rate for ratoon rice production
to be 54 lb/acre but speculated that N fertilizer applied at panicle
initiation of the main crop may have depressed the optimum rate
of N fertilizer required for ratoon rice production. Mengel and
Wilson (12) reported an N fertilizer application rate of 80 lb/acre
followed by immediate flooding produced highest ratoon rice
yields.
Rice cultivars commonly grown in the United States require
and respond to large amounts of N (3,14,20). Although N
applications are essential to produce acceptable rice grain yields,
excessive applications of N can have negative results (20).
Increased vegetative growth, lodging, disease damage, delayed
maturity, and reduced grain yields of lower quality can occur if N
applications are made at unnecessary rates or to rice at the
wrong growth stage (6,7,20). These adverse effects of excessive N
fertilization would also be manifested in ratoon rice production,
so the determination that increasing the ratoon N fertilizer
application rate from 90 to 120 lb/acre did not improve ratoon
grain yield was an important finding of the current research.
As with the current research, research by Mengel and Wilson
(12) was conducted at the Louisiana State University AgCenter
Rice Research Station near Crowley, LA. However, these
researchers examined the ratoon N fertilizer response of
conventional-height cultivars Labelle and Lebonnet, which have
now been replaced with higher-yielding, semidwarf cultivars.
Cultivars tested in the current research are all semidwarf
cultivars with high yield potential. These newer semidwarf
cultivars respond differently to inputs than the older
conventional-height cultivars, so it would be expected that the N
fertilizer rate producing maximum ratoon rice production would
be higher than that observed for older, conventional height
cultivars.
In rice-growing areas along the Gulf Coast of the United
States, a ratoon rice harvest is valuable to a producer’s income
because it increases total production on a given area with a
limited amount of additional input (2). Verification that the N
fertilizer rate producing maximum ratoon rough rice yields for
semidwarf cultivars was 90 lb/acre led to an increase in the
recommended ratoon N fertilizer rate in Louisiana (16).
However, the income attained from the additional harvest must
offset the added input costs of ratoon production. N fertilizer is
an expensive input for crop production. Decisions about the
appropriate application rate of N fertilizer should be field-
specific and based on a balance of the cost of N fertilizer and the
income realized from the increased yield resulting from a higher
N fertilizer rate.

Acknowledgment
The authors thank the staff of the Louisiana State University
AgCenter Rice Research Station for their assistance in this
research. The Louisiana Rice Research Board provided partial
funding for this research.
Published with the approval of the Director of the
Agricultural Experiment Station, Louisiana State University
AgCenter, manuscript number 05-61-0462.

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