Control of Rice Insect Pests

G.C. Jahn & Islam Zahirul

Integrated Pest Management

Training Course
 LECTURE CONTENT

 Introduction
 Basics of Cultural Control
 Single Field Cultural Control Practices
 Community-wide Cultural Control Practices
 Examples of Cultural Options Against
Specific Insect Pests
Introduction

What is CULTURAL CONTROL?

 The modification of management

practices so that the environment is less
favorable for pest
– invasion
– reproduction
– survival
– immigration
Introduction

Ecological Pest Management

 “Cultural control” is referred to as “Ecological

Pest Management” (EPM) by some authors
(e.g. Speight et al. 1999)
 This is because cultural control is a way of
changing the ecological factors that affect pest
numbers.
Introduction

Is there a difference between

EPM and Cultural Control?

 In practice, they are the same.

 In theory, they are different ways of looking at
crop protection, i.e. . . .
 EPM – looks for intervention points to
manipulate the ecosystem
 Cultural control – looks at each aspect of crop
management and how it affects pests.
 For our purposes the terms can be used inter-
changeably.
Introduction

Aims of EPM

In EPM the crop is managed to:

 Improve resistance of the crop to pests, by
optimizing plant health
 Enhance the proliferation and efficiency of
natural enemies
Introduction

Aims of Cultural Control

 To achieve reductions in pest numbers through

crop management.
 Increase yield.
 Improve grain and crop quality.
 Improve seed viability (germination rates).
 Decrease cost of pest management.
 Reduce the negative impact of pest
management on the environment and health by
reducing reliance on pesticides.
Basics

Basics of Cultural Control

 Advantages vs. Disadvantages

 Types of cultural control
– Primary
– Secondary
 Examples of Cultural Control Practices
 Adoption scale
Basics

Advantages vs. Disadvantages

of Cultural Control

Advantages: Disadvantages
 Inexpensive  May suppress some
 Slow development of pests, but increase
resistance (compared to others
chemical control)  May require community-
 Low environmental wide adoption
impact  Generally slower than
 Compatible with other pesticides for controlling
pest management outbreaks.
Basics

Types of Cultural Control

 Primary Cultural Control

– those practices adopted specifically to control insect
pests.
 Secondary Cultural Control
– those practices adopted for general crop health, but
which also prevent pest build up.
Basics

Examples of Primary
Cultural Control

 Draining a rice field to control caseworm.

 Transplanting older seedling to prevent whorl
maggot damage
 Increasing the seeding rate to compensate for
feeding by ants or birds
 Adjusting the timing of planting or land
preparation to avoid certain pests (e.g. chafer
beetle, stem borer, rice root weevil)
Basics

Examples of Secondary
Cultural Control

 Maintaining water in the field to prevent mole

crickets, ants and other soil pests.
 Land preparation – e.g. plowing to prepare the
soil for planting while at the same time turning
over stubble that harbors stem borers.
 Weeding
 Fertilization – splitting nitrogen applications to
avoid build up of certain pests (e.g. brown
planthoppers, gall midge)
Basics

Examples of CULTURAL CONTROL

PRACTICES

 Rotations, intercropping, mixed cropping,

barrier, trap crops
 Tillage
 Mulches
 HPR
 Phytosanitation
 Water management
 Fertilizer management
Basics

Adoption Scale

Some cultural practices offer direct benefits to the

farmer if carried out at the farm level. However,
some others require community-wide action to
be effective.
 Single field cultural practices
– e.g. transplanting vs direct seeding for weed control
 Community-wide cultural practices
– e.g. crop rotation to break pest life cycle
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
Single Field Cultural Control
Practices

 Overview
 Planting methods
 Seedling age
 Clipping
 Plant Density
 Crop cover – using Azolla
 Water management
 Fertilizer management
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
Overview of Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

 Works well when for pests that can be

excluded from the field e.g. flooding eliminates
dryland pests such as root aphids.
 Works for avoiding pests in time.
 Does not work well for reducing overall pest
populations of species that readily move
between fields such as adult rats or flying
insects.
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

Planting Methods

 Transplanting into flooded fields suppresses

dry land adapted pests such as white grubs,
root aphids, termites, mole cricket, ants, and
others.
 Seed beds are easier to protect from pests,
than entire fields, due to small area.
 Delayed transplanting is may help avoid certain
insects (e.g. stem borer) or diseases.
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

Seedling Age

Transplanting older seedlings:

 Reduces seedling time in the field.
 Reduces population buildup of pests that
prefer the vegetative stage.
 Reduces damage from caseworms and whorl
maggots
 Avoid one generation of stem borers,
leafhoppers, and brown planthoppers.
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

Plant Density

 The effect of plant density on insect pest

abundance is varied and complex.
 Dense plantings change crop growth,
development, and microclimate, which in turn
has an effect on pests and their natural
enemies.
 Sparse planting encourages weeds and
indirectly has an effect on insect abundance.
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

Clipping

 Clipping the tops of bundled tall seedlings

prevents lodging and removes stem borer and
hispa eggs, if present.
 Not commonly used with modern rice varieties.
 During the wet season, removal of the top third
of a standing crop at the vegetative stage can
remove leaf folders and stem borer egg
masses, hispa eggs and grubs, and thrips.
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

Crop Cover - Azolla

 Covering the paddy

water surface with
Azolla (water fern)
reduces incidence
of whorl maggot.
 Azolla cover also
assists predators
move from hill to hill
in search of prey
(e.g. planthoppers).
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

What is Azolla? A. nilotica

 Azolla is an aquatic fern (pteridophyte), that

floats on the water surface of flooded rice
fields, small ponds, and canals.
 1-5 cm, except for A. nilotica of Africa which
reaches 15 cm.
 Multiplies vegetatively and sexually.
 Seven Azolla species are recognized
 Distributed widely from temperate to tropical
regions.
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

Uses of Azolla

 Symbiotic nitrogen
fixation, thus high N
content
 Used for green manure
in wetland rice in China,
Vietnam, and Philippines
 Weed suppression in
rice
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

Water Management

 Draining field 1-2 days suppresses:

– Whorl maggots,
– root feeding midges,
– water weevils,
– caseworms
 Alternate draining and flooding for 5-7 days
helps control black bugs, planthoppers, gall
midge, hispa, and stem borers
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

Fertilizer Management
IPNM = Integrated Pest & Nutrient Management
= Managing soil nutrients and pests in a
complementary fashion, i.e.
 pest management has a
neutral or positive effect
on soil quality
 soil nutrient management
has a neutral or positive
effect on pest levels
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
Why do we need Integrated Pest
and Nutrient Management (IPNM)?

 Some nutrient
management causes
pest outbreaks
 Some pest management
techniques degrade the
soil
 IPNM could reduce pest
problems and enhance
soil fertility
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
IPNM FOR A CHANGING
RICE ECOSYSTEM

 New cultivars & GMOs

 Increased amounts of fertilizer being
used
 Interactions poorly understood,
therefore the potential for disaster (e.g.
outbreaks) - note pesticides
 Current pest problems related to
fertilizer use may be exacerbated
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
EXAMPLES: PEST MANAGEMENT
THAT REDUCES SOIL QUALITY

 Burning straw to
control insects and
diseases
 Plowing fallow
land to hinder
weeds and the
insect pests they
harbor
 Draining fields
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
EXAMPLES: PEST MANAGEMENT
THAT IMPROVES SOIL QUALITY

 Flooding fields to prevent infestations of thrips

mole crickets or weeds
 Crop rotation with a legume
 Using fish and ducks to help regulate pests
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
EXAMPLES OF PEST PROBLEMS
CAUSED BY FERTILIZER

 Nitrogen (N) applications tend to increase

populations of:
– weeds
– sheath blight
– leafhoppers
– gall midge
 N applications lead to heavier stem borer
larvae, which presumably cause more damage
 High N levels associated with pest outbreaks
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
EXAMPLES OF USING FERTILIZER
TO HELP MANAGE PESTS

 N applications decrease thrips populations

 Phosphorous (P) improves tolerance for root
pests
 Potassium (K) tends to suppress pests
 Silicon increases resistance to blast,
bacterial blight, planthoppers and stem
borers
 Zinc reduces stem borer damage
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

FERTILIZER APPLICATIONS CAN:

 Raise pest levels

 Lower pest levels
 Raise the levels of some pests and lower the
levels of others
 Have no effect on pest levels

Depending on several factors. . .

Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
FACTORS TO CONSIDER

 Fertilizer
– Composition
– Timing
– Amount
 Cultivar
– Hybrid
– New plant type
– Transgenic
– Duration
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

How would Nitrogen effect . . .

Nn = N t + B – D + I - E
 Birth rate?
 Mortality?
 Immigration
 Emigration?
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
FERTILIZER AND
BIRTH RATE

 N increases birth rate

( = fecundity) of many
phloem-feeding
insects (e.g.
planthoppers and
leafhoppers insects) More babies!
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

FERTILIZER AND DEATH RATE

 N tends to lower insect death rate ( = mortality)

 N increases insect tolerance to stress,
therefore lowers mortality
 Some parasitoids concentrate attacks on insect
hosts that feed on the leaves with the highest
N content
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

FERTILIZER AND IMMIGRATION

 Rice treated with high N attracts more pests

Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

FERTILIZER AND EMIGRATION

 N tends to soften plant

tissue, making
penetration of the plant
easier.
 Therefore insects should
tend to stay in a field
with high N.
 . . .which should reduce
emigration.
Comfortable animals tend
to stay at home
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

WHAT IS KNOWN?
Nitrogen & insects

 Increase insect tolerance to stress

 Greater insect fecundity (e.g. sucking insects)
 Increases insect feeding rate
 More abundant, e.g. brown planthopper
 Less abundant, e.g. thrips and whorl maggot
 Rice attracts more pest
 Promotes recovery from pest damage
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

THE KNOWN: Weeds & Pathogens

 Sheath blight - increased severity with

increased N
 Blast - use silica to increase resistance
 Low density of Echinochloa can out-
compete rice at high N
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
THE KNOWN:
Balance is important!

 Studies in India, China, Indonesia, the

Philippines, and Vietnam have found lower
pest incidence in fields with site-specific
nutrient management, compared to farmers’
practice
 Why?
 Farmers tend to apply unbalanced fertilizer
regimes
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

THE KNOWN: N effects

 N increases number of eggs produced by

some insects, (i.e. increase birth rate)
 High N can attract ovipositing insects (i.e.
increase immigration).
 N augments plant growth rate, therefore
softer tissues and easier penetration
(reduces emigration).
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

THE KNOWN: P effects

 P (Phosphorus)
improves root
development,
therefore greater
tolerance to root
pests (e.g. root
weevil)
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

THE KNOWN: Potassium (K) Effects

 Lowers plant sugar

 Lowers amino acids
 Promotes thicker cell walls
 Increases silica uptake
 Therefore suppresses many pests
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices
APPLICATIONS
of IPNM knowledge to date

 Avoid fast pest build up by splitting

applications of N, with a basal
application for slow release.
 Plow straw into soil to increase silica
uptake and reduce stem borer
 Apply N to promote recovery
following a pest attack
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

THE UNKNOWN

 Quantifying the balance

between pest & yield increases
when fertilizer is used
 Multiple effects: Fertilizer
combinations on different soil
types, with multiple pests on
different cultivars
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

THE UNKNOWN

 How will pests respond to fertilizer on

new cultivars?
 How do natural enemies respond to
fertilizer applications? (How do
fertilizers effect the rate of death of
pests?)
 How do grain sucking insects respond
to fertilizer applications and does this
effect grain quality?
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices

OBJECTIVES OF IPNM RESEARCH

 Understand processes involved

in how fertilizers effect crop
losses due to pests on different
– cultivars
– soil types
 Predict the consequences of
intensified rice production on
crop losses due to pests.
Single Field Cultural
Control Practices ?
DESIRED OUTPUTS

 Identify situations where outbreaks are

likely to occur
 Predict effectiveness of pest control
strategies and soil nutrient
management under different
circumstances
 Integrate pest and nutrient
management strategies
Community-wide
cultural control
Community-wide Cultural
Control: Overview

 Eliminating or drastically reducing a pest

population by removing its habitat.
 Preserving a high diversity of natural enemies
by maintaining habitats.
 Can use indicator species for diversity of
natural enemies (e.g. dragonflies in rice).
 Rely on taxonomy and phylogenetics to define
biodiversity (Douglas and Brunner 2002, May 1990)
Community-wide
cultural control

Indicator species

 Indicator species – species whose presence,

theoretically, indicate a certain level of species
richness in a habitat (MacNally and Fleishman
2002, Noss 1990)
 Why use indicator species?
– Complete species inventory is expensive
– Species inventory is time consuming
– Less expertise required
Community-wide
cultural control
Community-wide Cultural Control
Practices

Examples:
 Crop rotation
 Crop area
 Rice cropping frequency
 Plant maturity
 Planting time
 Synchronous planting / flowering
Community-wide
cultural control
Community-wide Cultural Control
Practices -- continued

 Trap crops
 Flooding stubble
 Tillage
 Weed control
 Harvest methods
 Straw and stubble destruction
 Ratooning
Examples of EPM for Rice caseworm - Nymphula depunctalis (Guenee),
Pyralidae, Lepidoptera.
specific insect pests

EPM for rice caseworm

Ÿ Rice fields with wider hill spacing (30 x 20 cm) usually

suffers less damage from caseworm.
Ÿ Early planting may escape the peak caseworm moth
activity period.
Ÿ Draining of fields for 5-7 days kills caseworm larvae.
Ÿ Use of older seedlings reduces the duration of the
susceptible stage of the crop.
Nitrogen fertilizer use at optimal dosages and split
applications reduce the rice caseworm’s abundance.
Examples of EPM for Rice whorl maggot - Hydrellia philippina
Ferino, Ephyridae, Diptera.
specific insect pests

EPM for rice whorl maggot

Ÿ Adult flies are more attracted to standing water.

Therefore, by draining the water at 3-4 days intervals
during the first 30 days after transplanting, egg lying is
reduced.
Ÿ Covering the water surface with Azolla and Salvinia
molesta prevents rice whorl maggot infestation.
Ÿ Direct-seeded rice is not as attractive to adults as a
transplanted rice crop is.
Ÿ Fields with higher plant density suffers less damage.
Close planting decreases oviposition and subsequent
damage.
Examples of EPM for Slender rice bug - Leptocorisa acuta (Thunberg),
specific insect pests Alydidae, Hemiptera

Rice bug EPM

Ÿ Simultaneous crop maturity in all fields in an area

dilutes rice bug damage.
Ÿ Staggered planting should be avoided.
Ÿ Rice maturing late in a few fields may suffer severe
damage because of the rice bug concentration.
Rice bugs are capable of surviving on other vegetation
during the off-season. Control of bugs on other
vegetation, especially in the off-season, can be
beneficial.
Summary

Nn = N t + B – D + I – E
Cultural control aims to increase:
 mortality
 emigration
Cultural control aims to decrease:
 natality & fecundity
 immigration
CONCLUSIONS

 Cultural control is a prophylactic method of

control, i.e. used for preventing pest problems.
 Cultural control is rarely use as a tactical
means of control
 Cultural control should be considered the first
defense, around which other control options
are built.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

 T. W. Mew
 K. L. Heong
 A. Barrion
 L. Almazan
 Elsa Rubia Sanchez
References

CABI (CAB International) 2001. Crop Protection

Compendium (2001 – edition) – CD or on-line version.
United Kingdom.
Dent, D. 1995. Integrated Pest Management. Chapman
& Hall, London, 356 pp.
Dent, D. 2000. Integrated Pest Management (2nd Ed.)
CABI Publishing, Wallingford, 410 pp.
References - continued

Douglas MR and Brunner PC. 2002. Biodiversity of Central

Alpine Coregonus (Salmoniformes): impact of one-
hundred years of management. Ecological Applications
12(1):154-172.
IRRI and UQ. 2002. RiceIPM (version 1) - International
Rice Research Institute (Philippines) and The University of
Queensland (Australia), CD.
Litsinger JA., 1994. Cultural, mechanical, and physical
control of rice insects. Pp. 549-584 In: EA Heinrichs (ed.)
Biology and Management of Rice Insects. International
Rice Research Institute, Philippines, 779p.
References - continued

MacNally R and Fleishman E. 2002. Using “indicator”

species to model species richness: model development
and predictions. Ecological Applications 12(1):79-92.
May, RM. 1990. Taxonomy as destiny. Nature 347:129-
130.
Noss, RF. 1990. Indicators for monitoring biodiversity: a
hiearchical approach. Conservation Biology 4:355-364.
References - continued

Reissig WH, Heinrichs EA, Litsinger JA, Moody K,

Fiedler L, Mew TW and Barrion AT. 1986. Illustrated
guide to integrated pest management in rice in tropical
Asia. International Rice Research institute, Philippines,
411p.
Takahashi, F. 1964. Reproduction curve with two
equilibrium points: a consideration in fluctuation of
insect populations. Research in population Ecology
6:28-38.