Rice quality and functionality are characterized in many ways, depending largely on the industry segment using the rice. These characteristics include appearance, milling, and cooking parameters. Recently, variable quality of rice grown in the United States has been reported, but the cause was not well documented. Agronomic impacts include planting time, irrigation and fertility, cultivar selection, and harvest conditions. However, recent research suggests that ambient air temperature, specifically elevated nighttime air temperature (NTAT) during grain filling, dramatically affects the variability of rice milling quality, in terms of milled- and head-rice yields; appearance, in terms of chalkiness; and functional characteristics, including viscosity profiles, gelatinization temperatures, and proximate concentrations. Future research is needed to develop cultivars that are resistant to stress resulting from elevated NTAT during the critical period of grain filling, and, for the near term, to develop altered production management practices that mitigate elevated-temperature stress.

Cereal Chem. 93(2):172-181Field studies were conducted from 2011 to 2013 near Stuttgart, Arkansas. The impacts of nitrogen rate (0, 45, 90, 135, and 180 kg of N/ha) and harvest moisture content (HMC) (23, 19, and 15%, wet basis) on physicochemical properties and milling yields were determined. Trends were similar for the cultivars evaluated: Cheniere, CL XL745, and Wells. Milled rice yields were only minimally impacted by either N rate or HMC level. Increasing N rate reduced kernel length and thickness of brown rice, chalkiness of brown rice and head rice, and viscosities of head rice flour, and it increased brown rice and head rice crude protein content and head rice yield (HRY). In terms of milling yields and head rice functionality, these data suggest that N rates as low as 90 kg of N/ha could be utilized, should production recommendations be changed. Significant interactions between N rate and HMC level were infrequent and were associated with the 0 kg of N/ha rate, unrealistic for rice production. Decreasing HMC from 23 to 19% reduced kernel length and thickness and increased crude protein content and chalkiness; further decreasing HMC to 15% also increased kernel fissuring and decreased HRY. † Corresponding

Sugarcane is cultivated on some 170000 ha of land in south central and southwestern Louisiana. This acreage drains into bayous and rivers that empty into Louisiana's coastal bays and estuaries. For a number of years the state's Department of Agriculture and Forestry and Department of Environmental Quality have collected water quality data from this sugarcane area. Study of these data shows that approximately one in five detections of atrazine is above the maximum contaminant level (MCL) for drinking water. Currently there is no U.S. atrazine standard for protection of aquatic life. February and October detections of this herbicide are probably due to sugarcane cultivation. Nitrate levels have remained below the MCL for drinking water, but nitrate and phosphorus concentrations may pose a potential for eutrophication problems. The contribution of sugarcane production to the nutrient status of Louisiana's coastal water bodies is difficult to assess because there are other sources of nutrients in the area and native soil phosphorus levels are high. Cultural practices such as subsurface drains, open drainage ditches, and postharvest residue management have potential through enhancement of soil infiltration for decreasing sugarcane's contribution to water quality problems in southern and coastal Louisiana. A new field project is being installed at the Louisiana State University Agricultural Experiment Station's Sugarcane Research Station at St. Gabriel to assess the water quality benefits of these practices with respect to sugarcane cultivation.

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