From south Louisiana to the Missouri Bootheel, many farmers have turned to the Provisia system to target weedy rice resistant to ALS chemistries, or Acetolactate synthase enzyme inhibitors. While Provisia is not a new technology, it is new to Nutrien Ag Solutions with much excitement around a new rice variety coming to market. 

In 2025, Dyna-Gro 563PVL will be available in limited quantities to help growers target ALS resistant weedy rice. The new variety was featured this summer during rice field days hosted by Nutrien Ag Solutions where presenters shared agronomic traits and stressed the importance of stewarding the Provisia technology. 

Additionally, Nutrien Financial provided information about financing options across all product lines offered by Nutrien Ag Solutions. 

Agronomic qualities of DG563PVL 

The new DG563PVL is a cross derived from the company’s proprietary germplasm DG236L. 

“We have been limited on the number of acres we have been able to participate on, because DG263L is a conventional variety. Now we have DG563PVL as our initial offering in the traited space utilizing Provisia technology,” said Frank Groves, North American crop lead of cotton, rice, and specialty at Nutrien Ag Solutions. 

Provisia rice is a system approach. The active ingredient in the Provisia herbicide is quizalofop, and it is labeled for grasses like barnyardgrass, red rice, sprangletop, and volunteer rice. 

Related:Nutrien partners with Rice Stewardship program

DG563PVL is a high yielding variety with excellent milling yields, and good early-season vigor and color. DG563PVL also has great tillering capacity, even better than DG263L which is known for excellent tillering.  

Groves noted the tremendous success of DG263L that has been available the past four sales seasons. He added that the tillering of DG563PVL gives growers even more flexibility with the seeding rate. 

DG563PVL also has excellent yield potential. Scott Greenwalt is Nutrien’s regional rice agronomist. He said DG563PVL surpasses DG263L for both head rice yields and milling yields. 

“DG263L is a good miller. One benefit we picked up in crossing it with PVL01 was increased head rice milling,” he said. “In some of our preliminary research for DG563PVL, we have seen head rice yields 3 to 5% better than DG263L.” 

Stewardship of the Provisia system 

The new variety comes through a working relationship between Nutrien and BASF. During the Nutrien rice field day in Bernie, Mo., Greenwalt was joined by BASF’s technical service representative Andrea Smith. Together they stressed the importance of stewarding the Provisia technology. 

Related:Battling weedy rice with ACCase cropping systems

The message was clear. Provisia technology is designed to target weedy rice populations. Greenwalt said, “This is a system. It is not a product. We want to control grass with our grass herbicides, and we want to leave Provisia to do the work on weedy rice.”

Nutrien’s Scott Greenwalt (right) and BASF’s Andrea Smith (left) teamed up at the Nutrien rice field day in Bernie, Mo. to discuss agronomic traits of DG563PVL and stewardship of the Provisia technology. (Photo by Whitney Haigwood)

Smith added that ALS resistant weedy rice is a growing problem for rice farmers that is working its way farther north in the Delta. “With ALS resistance, when nothing works on weedy rice, then it is time to graduate to the Provisia program,” Smith said.  

“But before we graduate to the Provisia program, we need to make sure we are stewarding this chemistry correctly so we can extend the life of this chemistry for future use.” 

Provisia herbicide has a yearly use rate of 31 ounces per acre that can be applied as a two-pass or three-pass system. Smith has seen success with both options, and she also stressed the importance of tank mixing. 

“We need to make sure we have tank mixes with Provisia. We need to make sure we have a residual in the tank along with a broadleaf product to customize our applications and take care of all other weeds,” Smith said. 

Smith also noted herbicides that cause antagonism and are not recommended in tank mixes with Provisia. Antagonistic herbicides include anything containing Propanil along with RiceBeaux, Grasp, Grasp Xtra, Grandstand, and 2-4,D. 

For timing applications, good weather is a key factor. Smith referred to research by Connor Webster, LSU weed scientist, that found timing was most ideal in sunny weather conditions of at least 60 degrees Fahrenheit three days before and three days following the herbicide application. 

Availability and financing 

From a volume standpoint, Groves said DG563PVL will be in limited supply. “We encourage growers who are looking for DG263L type performance on a Provisia platform to go ahead and order early to make sure they have it in hand, because we are expecting to sell out.” 

All other Dyna-Gro rice varieties – DG263L, DG245L, and DG353M – will be available at standard supply. These varieties are proprietary offerings exclusive to Nutrien Ag Solutions and financing options are available. 

Allyson Bise is a financial service specialist for Nutrien. Bise said, “For us, knowing that growers are facing tighter margins this year, we think it is important to also implement financial planning with agronomic planning.” 

Through Nutrien Financial, growers are offered financing at fixed interest rates with flexible payment options to match their cash flows. 

“Especially when it comes to Dyna-Gro rice, we have a great program with a promotional interest rate for approved growers. The key is that growers can apply now and finance out until March 2026,” Bise explained. 

Once approved, Nutrien Financial gives growers access to all seed, chemical, and fertilizer programs. This means a grower could use one credit line across all programs offered by Nutrien including seed, chemical, and fertilizer. 

Farmers can apply for financing online at https://nutrienfinancial.com. However, John Maman, senior director of business development for Nutrien Financial, said the best place to start is with your local Nutrien Ag Solutions crop advisor. 

“We have a dedicated team of individuals spanning across North America that will be there at the farm gate to provide more of a white glove planning service for our customers. That resource is aligned on different divisional and regional geographies across the country. 

“Our crop advisors and financial territory managers are able to give our customers the best access to cash flow means for the inputs they’re using from Nutrien Ag Solutions,” Maman said.