Rice cultivation in Arkansas

[4] Much of Arkansas' rice is grown in the east-central portion of the state, where it requires nearly three times more the amount of irrigation water than the average eleven inches the region receives during the growing season.

[5] In the areas of lowest precipitation, or where weedy red rice is a significant problem, farmers follow a three year, three phase "old rotation" of rice-soybean-soybean.

[3] The origins of rice cultivation within the state of Arkansas, as well as within the entire Grand Prairie region, is typically attributed to Nebraskan entrepreneur W.H.

The idea to plant rice in Arkansas came to Fuller in August 1896, when he was travelling to Louisiana with companion Hewit Puryear for a hunting trip.

Along their horse and wagon trip, the two men were especially captivated by a rice field in the southern Louisiana town of Crowley.

[7] Rice is an extremely water intensive crop, and as a result requires quite a bit of irrigation "that must be secured from other sources.

[7] Arkansas rice is typically grown in drilled rows, which are flooded at the four to six leaf stage (usually four to five weeks after planting), under a dry seeded culture.

"[10] As with many issues pertinent to rice farming in Arkansas, the rates and methods of fertilization vary depending on a number of factors.

Nitrogen fertilization, as with many crops grown in the United States, often plays a significant role in the growth of rice within Arkansas.

"[17] The weed that poses perhaps the largest threat to Arkansas rice is barnyard grass, due to its "widespread resistance to propanil and quinclorac, two of the most frequently used herbicides.