RICE GROWING IN THE SACRAMENTO VALLEY. 



Table T. — Rrsvltn of vdhctn te^t^ of rices ^ grown upon onc-lcnth acre plats on 

 hlack adobe soil in the Havramcnto Valley of California in 1910. 



1 These rices, on account of the quality of their grain, were selected for planting in 1910 from 300 varie- 

 ties which were grown here in 1909 on plats consisting of only 4 rows a rod each in length and 7 inches 

 apart;. The yields from the rices in 1909 were relatively much higher than in 1910, when the plantings were 

 made on a larger scale. Kstimated upon the actual yield from plats one-half acre in size, the Wataribune 

 (li. I. No. 1561) and Shinriki (G. I. No. 1642) varieties in 1910 yielded 113.7 and 137.2 bushels per acre, 

 respeclivcly. 



2 Kstimated upon the actual yields from one-tenth acre plats. 



3 See illustrations. 



In this valley these rices require a longer time to mature and they 

 produce smaller })lants than when grown on the plains of the Gulf 

 coast, but they exhibit a greater capacity for tillering, with resultant 

 larger yields. 



The short-grain rices appear to be better suited to this climate 

 than the long-grain varieties. (PL I, fig. 2.) They ripen more 

 uniformly, though slowly, tend to shatter less, and produce larger 

 yields. There is less sun-cracking of the grain in these varieties 

 after ripening than in the long-grain rices, which will result, of 

 course, in a larger percentage of head rice when milled. 



The number of days for maturing the crop may be greatly less- 

 ened by stimulating the growth at the time' the plants begin to 

 "boot" by increasing the depth of water (PI. II, fig. 1), with a 

 gradual lowering of it during this period, and by giving another 

 impetus to growth by suddenly increasing the depth of water just 

 as the heads appear. This last depth of water should be maintained 

 until the heads begin to turn down, when the land should be drained 

 for harvest. A shorter season and earlier planting seem desirable in 

 order that the crop may escape the effect of the increasing humidity 

 in September and October, which appears to lengthen the period of 

 ripening. 



The Honduras (PI. II, fig. 2) and Shinriki (PI. Ill) varieties 

 (G. I. Nos. 1G43 and 1642) are the leading commercial rices of the 

 United States. In this test these varieties have exceeded the maxi- 

 mum yields produced on experimental plats in Louisiana and Texas. 

 Of the two rices, the Shinriki, which is a small-grain variety, is 

 better adapted to the Sacramento Valley. 



[Clr. 97] 



