Rice Plant- and Leaf Hoppers

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Monitoring and Scouting in Rice
Introduction Agricultural crops are attacked by a
large number of pest species including insect
pests, diseases, nematodes and weeds. For
ensuring good crop productivity effective
management of these pests becomes extremely
important. Earlier, there was sole reliance on
pesticides for controlling pests.
Rice crop damaged by brown planthopper
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However, indiscriminate use of pesticides has
resulted in several problems related to pest
control and environment. These include
development of pesticide resistance in pests,
pest resurgences and outbreaks, death of
bio-control agents, adverse effects on useful
organisms and harm to human animal health and
environment in general.
Pesticide spray on rice crop
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Due to these drawbacks of pesticides, integrated
pest management (IPM) concept came in to being.
The IPM is an ecological approach to pest
problems where different control tactics such as
cultural, mechanical, physical, resistant
behavioural, biological and chemical methods are
integrated for suppression of pest populations.
Monitoring is backbone of IPM. Farmer must keep
continuous vigil of pest activity on crops.
Concept of Integrated pest management
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Pest Monitoring in Rice

• Information on activity of pests is indispensible
  in pest management. Pest monitoring refers to
  regular observations on pest activity throughout
  the crop season. It is also be known as
  surveillance or regular survey. It helps in
  issuing forewarning and facilitates proper timing
  of plant protection measures thereby preventing
  avoidable losses and environmental
  contamination, and ensuring favourable
  benefit-cost.

Monitoring of rice pests
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• A timely executed treatment very well substitutes
  for 3-4 ill-timed application.
• Monitoring also provides information on important
  pests as well a their natural enemies of pests
  and their density relationships.

Natural enemy- spider
Brown planthopper
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Likewise, monitoring data can also be used to
analyze relation between pest population and
physical factors, which can then be used for pest
forecasting. As quantification of pest
problems is time and labour intensive activity,
monitoring technique should be very efficient. It
should provide representative picture of pest
situation in reasonable amount of time.
Diseased rice plant
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• Pest monitoring procedure
• A. Detailed observations on crop
• For pest monitoring and to assess bio control,
  field observations should be recorded regularly.
• Select randomly five fixed observation plots of
  one acre each in an area.
• In each of the plots, thoroughly examine 25 hills
  by randomly selecting five hills at five places.
  
• The hills should be selected by moving diagonally
  or in a zig-zag manner in the field.

Stem borer larva
Stem borer adult
White-ear damage due to stem borer
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• The observation should be recorded at 10-day
  interval from sowing to mid tillering and weekly
  intervals after mid-tillering stage.
• Pest should be searched on relevant plant part.
  In case of brown planthopper, plant stems should
  be inspected and not the leaves.

Monitoring brown planthopper on rice
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• Pest wise observations
• Stem borer Total number of tillers and dead
  hearts on 25 hills during vegetative phase, and
  total number of reproductive tillers and
  white-ears during reproductive phase is
  enumerated to find per cent incidence.
• Gall midge Total number of tillers and silver
  shoots is enumerated and per cent incident is
  determined.
• Leaf folder, hispa and whorl maggot Total number
  of leaves and a damaged leaves is counted and per
  cent leaf damage is calculated.
• Planthoppers Total nymphal and adult population
  is counted.
• Gundhi bug Number of bugs is counted.

Leaf folder
Hispa
Rice gundhi bug
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• B. Roving survey For pest monitoring in large
  area in short time, roving pest surveys on
  pre-determined routes can be conducted at every
  10-day interval regularly and observations are
  recorded at every 5-10 km distance depending
  upon the distance of route to be covered.
  Everyday at least 20 spots should be observed.
• C. Sweep nets and water pans may also be used to
  assess population of insect pests and bio-control
  agents.
• D. Light traps such as Chinsurah type or any
  other light trap with 200 watt mercury lamp can
  also be operated for two hours in the evening to
  observe phototactic insects.
• E. Pheromone traps _at_ 5 traps per hectare may be
  used to monitor yellow stem borer population.

Light trap
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• Precautions during monitoring
• Make sure that you are properly equipped with the
  tools you may need once in the field.
• Identify the field by the farmers name, field
  number and location with GPS.
• Record date and time and weather conditions.
• Record general soil, and crop growth stage and
  condition.
• Sample the field in the pattern prescribed for
  particular pest.
• If needed, collect pest samples or their damage
  for later identification.
• Also record natural enemies of pests.
• Report the results of monitoring.

Discussion on pest problems with farmers
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• Lets Sum up
• Pest monitoring refers to regular observations on
  pest activity throughout the crop season.
• Monitoring is backbone of IPM. Farmer must keep
  continuous vigil on pest activity on crops.
• Monitoring helps in issuing forewarning and
  facilitates proper timing of plant protection
  measures thereby preventing avoidable losses and
  environmental contamination, and ensuring
  favourable benefit-cost.
• Monitoring also provides information on important
  pests as well a their natural enemies.
• Monitoring technique should be very efficient. It
  should provide representative picture of pest
  situation in reasonable amount of time.
• Roving survey refers to pest monitoring in large
  area in short time on pre-determined route.
• Sweep nets, water pan traps, yellow sticky traps,
  light traps and pheromone traps are also used for
  pest monitoring.