Crop consultants in Arkansas and Mississippi were sent a direct-mail survey in fall of 2011 with questions concerning weed management in rice. The goal of the survey was to document the extent of imidazoline-resistant rice hectares, the herbicides most commonly recommended in rice, the weeds perceived to be most troublesome in rice including those resistant to herbicides, and suggested areas of research and educational focus that would improve weed management in rice. When appropriate, results from this survey were compared to a similar survey conducted in 2006. Completed rice surveys were returned by 43 consultants, accounting for 179,500 ha of scouted rice or 38% of the rice hectarage in Arkansas and Mississippi. Imidazolinone-resistant rice was grown on 64% of the hectares, and this technology was used continually for the past 5 yr on 11% of the rice hectares. Of the area planted to imidazolinone-resistant rice, 42% of this hectarage was treated solely with an acetolactate synthase (ALS)-inhibiting herbicide. Consultants listed improved control options for barnyardgrass and Palmer amaranth as the most important research and educational need in rice. The top five weeds in order of importance were (1) barnyardgrass, (2) sprangletops, (3) red rice, (4) northern jointvetch, and (5) Palmer amaranth. From a predetermined list of research and educational topics, consultants gave the highest ratings of importance to (1) control of herbicide-resistant weeds, (2) strategies to reduce the occurrence and spread of herbicide-resistant weeds, and (3) development of new economical herbicide-resistant rice varieties which was comparable to economical weed control options. Findings from this survey point to the overuse of imidazolinone-resistant rice and a lack of preemptive resistance management strategies such as crop rotation and use of multiple effective herbicide modes of action by some growers, which has likely contributed to selection for the ALS-resistant barnyardgrass and rice flatsedge recently confirmed in Arkansas and Mississippi rice.
