Background

The California rice industry has a long history of being proactive and adapting to new production challenges and environmental concerns. Yet, pest management challenges continue to escalate and scarce data on IPM options for California rice systems exist. Crop rotation is one IPM practice that shows potential to control pest and disease pressures while providing other benefits (Figure 1), however little data exists to support growers in making informed management options concerning crop rotations. At the same time, crop rotations may not be an option for many growers in Sacramento Valley, due to several environmental and economic constraints, and alternative IPM practices need to be explored. To address these issues, farmers, researchers, extension professionals, and other key industry personnel need to be involved in future research and priority-setting efforts.

An inaugural IPM work group meeting was held July 7, 2021, to prioritize future research interests:

• Economics of long-term and short-term rotation options.

• Effects of different crop rotations on soil health, soil microbiome, rice yields, and input use.

• Cover crop management on different soils, options and impacts on crop health.

• Review and re-share past research findings on drill seeding and dry seeding.

• Exploring how weed species and pest populations shift when implementing different IPM management practices.

• Alternative irrigation methods, alternative fall management practices and their impact on pests and disease.