Pests of crops and stored grain and their management - AET-102 (2+1)

Insects pests in rice and their management

Dr Seema Tripathy
Assistant Prof & Head, Dept. of Entomology, FOAG
SRI SRI UNIVERSITY, CUTTACK, ODISHA
 BACKGROUND INFORMATION

➢ Pest can be defined as insect or other organism that causes any damage to crops, stored produce and
animals.

➢ An insect reaches the status of a pest when its number increases and inflicts significant damage. Pests
include insects, nematodes, mites, snails, slugs, etc. and vertebrates like rats, birds, etc.

➢ Depending upon the importance, pests may be agricultural, forest, household, medical, aesthetic and
veterinary pests.
Parameters of insect population levels
General equilibrium position (GEP)
The average density of insect population over a long period of time unaffected by temporary interventions of pest control.
Economic injury level (EIL)
The lowest population density that will cause economic damage
Economic threshold level (ETL)
Population density at which control measure should be implemented to prevent an increasing pest population from reaching
the EIL.
 CATEGORIES OF PESTS
Based on occurrence
Regular pest: Frequently occurs on crop - Close association e.g. Rice stem borer
Occasional pest: Infrequently occurs, no close association e.g. Caseworm on rice
Seasonal pest: Occurs during a particular season every year e.g. Red hairy caterpillar on groundnut
Persistent pests: Occurs on the crop throughout the year and is difficult to control e.g. Chilli thrips
Sporadic pests: Pest occurs in isolated localities during some period. e.g. Coconut slug caterpillar

Based on level of infestation

Epidemic Pests: Epidemic, means abundance, outbreaks(sudden increase in large numbers)of a pest in a given area at given
time.
Endemic Pests:(Endemic, mean belonging, or native to, prevalent in a particular area).Endemic means a pest occurs
continuously and with predictable regularity in a specific area or population. Native pest or pests permanently established in
an area. Eg: Citrus blackfly, endemic to Nagpur area ,
Exotic Pests: Non-Native or Non-Indigenous Pests not known to occur in the state or country.
Based on EIL, GEP
(i) Key pest
Most severe and damaging and persistent pests, GEP lies above EIL always. e.g. Cotton bollworm, Diamond backmoth
(ii) Major pest
GEP lies very close to EIL or coincides with EIL. e.g. Cotton jassid, Rice stem borer
(iii) Minor pest/Occasional pest
GEP is below the EIL, Rarely they cross EIL e.g. Rice hispa, brinjal Ash weevils

Based on host specificity

Monophagous: Feeding on one particular type of food or parasitic only on one specific host.
Oligophagous: Having a very restricted range of food
Polyphagous: Feeding on a variety of different foods
Why Pest Management
• Collapse of control system
• After World War II the massive use of pesticides has led to adverse side effects on
humans and animals.
• Rachel Carson, an American biologist, warned the people about the side effects of the
use of pesticides through her book entitled, Silent Spring. Through her book, she raised
a lot of questions about the real benefits of the use of pesticides as well as the risks of
pesticides on environment and public health.
• Phases of ipm: subsistence, exploitation, crisis , disaster and integrated control phase
 INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT
What is Integrated Pest Management (IPM)?
Integrated Pest Management is the approach of mutual integration of available
pest control tactics to maintain the pest numbers below economic threshold levels with an
aim of least or no hazards to the environment.
Why IPM?
IPM is the alternative to pest control. The pest control activity was aimed at
eradication of pests by use of chemical (synthetic) pesticides. Overuse and misuse of
chemical pesticides have led to development of a series of negative ecological consequences
like:
● Residual toxicity in plant parts and eatables, soil, water etc.
● Health hazards to animals and human beings
● Destruction of natural enemies (predators and parasites)
● Development of insecticide resistance in insects
● Resurgence and outbreak of insects
● Conversion of minor pests to major pests
Tools of IPM:
● Cultural methods: ● Physical methods:
a) Summer ploughing a) Heat treatment
b) Cold treatment
b) Crop residue management c) Use of ultrasonic sound
c) Use of healthy seeds d) Use of bird scarer
● Biological methods:
d) Use of resistant/tolerant varieties
e) Adjustment of sowing time a) Use of predators
b) Use of parasitoids
f) Crop rotation
g) Intercropping, trap cropping, border cropping ● Chemical methods:
h) Crop sanitation a) Use of attractants
b) Use of repellents
i) Efficient fertilizer management c) Use of selective insecticides
j) Efficient water management d) Use of sterilant
e) Use of IGRs
● Mechanical methods
● Genetic method:
a) Removal of affected plant parts a) Male sterilization technique
b) Use of light trap. Pheromone trap, sticky trap
● Quarantine method:
c) Use of poison bait a) Enforcement of law to avoid introduction and
d) Hand collection of egg mass, larvae and their destruction spread of any new pest from one area to the other.
e) Use of hand net for mass catching adults and their destruction
INSECT PESTS OF PADDY
Yellow Stem Borer, Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) (Pyralidae : Lepidoptera )

Marks of identification:
• The female moth has yellowish forewings with a black spot on each and an anal tuft of yellowish
hairs at the tip of abdomen. The male is smaller and without the black spots on forewings. Larva is
pale yellowish with dark brown head.
Life history/biology:
• The female lays eggs in a mass near the tip of tender leaf blade and covers them with yellowish
hairs. Egg period - 5 to 8 days, Larval period - 4 to 5 weeks, Pupation take place in to stem, Pupal
period - 8 to 10 days, Adult longevity - 2 to 6 days, Total life cycle is completed in 43 to 58 days. The
hibernating larvae remains in the stems or stubble when the crop is harvested (Nov. to March).

Damage symptoms:
Young larvae bore into the central shoot by cutting it. The
affected central shoot turn brown and this is called as ‘dead
heart’. In the reproductive stage the panicle bearing shoot is cut
down from the base of the plants which can be pulled out easily
and that is called as ‘white ear head’. The attack is severe in the
panicle stage of the crop.
White ear head
Management:
1. Summer ploughing and stubble management to be taken up.
2. Grow resistant/tolerant varieties like Ratna, Deepti, Saket 4, Payur, TKM 6.
3. Apply granular insecticides (Cartap hydrochloride @ 1 kg) in nursery 7 days before up rooting of the seedlings.
4. Seedling root Dipping for 30 minutes with chloropyriphos 0.02%
5. Clipping the tip of seedling before transplantation helps in the elimination of egg masses.
6. Three weeks after transplanting install pheromone traps to monitor and mass trap.
7. Release egg parasitoid Trichogramma japonicum @ 20000/ac two-three times at weekly intervals.
8. The ETL value is 5% dead heart or 1 egg mass/m2
9. Granular application of Cartap hydrochloride - 25 kg/ha,
Foliar spray with flubendiamide 1 gm or in 10 liter water/acre
chlorantraniliprole 3 ml
 Rice leaf folder Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guenee) (Pyralidae:Lepidoptera)
Marks of Identification:
• Adult moths are yellowish brown The wings have 2-3 wavy lines
characterized by dark bands. Larva is yellowish green in colour.
Life History :
• They lay oval, creamy white eggs singly or in pairs on the leaves
and leafsheaths.. Egg period is 3 to 4 days. Larva becomes full
grown in 15 to 25 days. Pupation takes place inside the leaf roll.
Pupation period is 6 to 8 days. The life cycle varies from 25 to 35
days.
Nature of Damage:
• The young larvae feed on tender leaves without folding them. The
older larvae fasten the longitudinal margins of leaf together with
a sticky substance and feed inside the fold by scraping the green
matter. The scraped leaves become membranous, turn white and
finally wither. The heavily infested crop has streaks on the leaves
and appears whitish from a distance. A single larva may damage a
number of leaves as it migrates from one leaf to another.
Management
➢ Resistant variety Mahanadi, Gajapati, Prachi, Urbasi, Ramachandi,
➢ Transplanting of paddy seedlings during first fortnight of July
➢ Collection and destruction of damaged leaves, larvae and pupae.
➢ Installation of light trap in the field
➢ Release of paraitoid T. chilonis @ 20,000/ac 2-3 times at 7 days interval.
➢ The ETL value is 1-2 freshly folded leaves/clump.
➢ Foliar spray with flubendiamide 1 gm or in 10 liter water/acre
chlorantraniliprole 3 ml
Rice case worm Nymphula depunctalis (Guenee) (Pyralidae : Lepidoptera)
Marks of Identification:
• The adult is a small white moth with pale brown wavy markings. The larva is
light green with a light brownish-orange head.. Larva has filamentous gills
so it can live semi- aquatic life.
Life history :
• The female lays about 50 eggs singly or in clusters of 4 on the undersurface
of the leaves or grasses. Egg period 4 to 6 days. Larval period 18 to 22 days.
Pupation takes place inside the tubular case and which is attached to the
base of the tiller. Pupation period 4 to 7 days. Total life cycle completed
within 19 to 37 days.
Nature of Damage :
• The leaf blade is cut into small bits and a tubular case is constructed by the
larva. The larva feeds by scrapping the under surface of the leaf blade
leaving the upper epidermis intact and as a result of scrapping characteristic
white patches are seen on the leaf blades. In case of severe infestation,
tubular cases are found floating on water.
Management
• The pest is semi aquatic and hence draining is the most effective method for the management of the pest.
• Mix 400 ml of kerosene with 10 kg of sand and apply to the standing water. Dislodge the cases by Dragging a
rope across the crop canopy and then drain water; collect the cases and destroy.
• Maintain field and bunds weed free. Do early planting and follow wider spacing.
• Follow split fertilizer application.
●Spraying of the crop with Fipronil @ 2ml/L/acre
Indoxacarb@ 1ml/L/acre
 Rice gall midge, Orseolia oryzae (Cecidomyiidae: Diptera )

Bionomics
• Orange coloured mosquito like fly is active during night
and lays 100-300 reddish, elongate, tubular eggs just near
the ligule of the leaf blade. Egg period 3-4 days, maggot
pale red during feeding and larval period 8-10 days.
Maggot pupates at the base of the gall and moves to tip of
the gall and projects outside during emergence. Life cycle
lasts for 15-20 days.
Damage:
• The maggots after hatching feeds at the base of the
growing shoot and inject a chemical cecidogen. As a result
of chemical reaction the affected leaf sheath gets
converted to a tube like gall similar to “onion needle” or
“silver-shoot”. Infested tillers produce no panicles.
Management:
1. Encourage early planting of the crop with quick growing varieties to escape infestation.
2. Use resistant varieties like IR 36, Phalguna
3. Remove the alternate host.
3. Set up light trap @ 1 / ha as a monitoring device. Infra red light trap attracts gall midge effectively.
4. Optimum recommendation of potash fertilizer
5. Release larval parasitoid, Platygaster oryzae through parasitized galls @ 1 per 10 m2 in the main field at 10
days after transplanting (DAT).
6. Conserve predatory spiders and carabid beetle in rice ecosystem.
ETL- 1 gall/m2
7. Apply carbofuran @ 25 kg/ha
spray fipronil 1.5 kg in 500 L water/ha
Brown Planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens Stal. (Delphacidae:Hemiptera)
Marks of Identification:
• The adults are brownish with brownish eyes. The wings having
brown marking and dark veins. The nymphs are brownish- black in
colour and have grayish- blue eyes.
Life History:
• The female inserts the eggs in leaf sheath. Egg period is 5 days. The
nymphs become adults in 15 days. Total life cycle 25 to 35 days.
Damage:
• Both the nymphs and adults remain at the ground level and suck the
plant sap. It is a typical vascular feeder primarily sucking phloem sap
leading to hopper burn. At early infestation, circular yellow patches
appear which soon turn brownish due to the drying up of the plants.
The patches of infestation then may spread out and cover the entire
field. The grain setting is also affected to a great extent. During
sustained feeding, it excretes a large amount of honeydew. It also
acts as vector of the virus diseases like grassy stunt, wilted stunt and
ragged stunt. The loss in yield may range from 10 to 70 per cent.
Whitebacked planthopper, Sogatella furcifera (Horvath), (Delphacidae: Hemiptera)

Marks of Identification:
• The Adult is a straw coloured, wedge shaped insect, with white back. Bigger in size than
Green Hopper. The nymph is grayish white.
Life History
• The adults lay eggs generally on the leaf sheath. The eggs hatch in 3-4 days. The nymphs
feed on leaves and are transformed into adults within 8-13 days. The life-cycle is
completed in 12-18 days. The adult females live for about a week. There are several
generations in a year.
Nature of Damage:
• The nymphs and the adults suck cell-sap from the leaf surface and tend to congregate
on the leaf sheath at the base of the plant. The leaves of attacked plants turn yellow and
later on rust red. These symptoms start from the leaf tips and spread to the rest of the
plant numerous brownish spots also appear on the feeding sites. The attacked plants
ultimately dry up without producing ears. The insect also excretes honeydew on which a
sooty mould appears, imparting a smoky hue to the paddy fields.
Rice green leaf hopper, Nephotettix virescens (Distant) (Cicadellidae: Hemiptera)

Marks of Identification:
• The female is green and a black tinge on pronotum is absent. The
male has two black spots extending upto the black distal portion
on the forewings.
Life History
• The females lay eggs on the inner surface of the leaf-sheath in
groups of 3-18. The eggs hatch in 3-5 days and the nymphal stage
is completed in 12-21 days. The adults live for 7-22 days in summer.
There are about six overlapping generations from March to
November. The insect over-winters in the adult stage.
Nature of Damage:
• Both nymphs and adults suck the plant sap and cause browning of
leaves. This insect is known to be vectors of virus disease of Rice
such as Rice Yellow Dwarf transmitted by N. nigropictus. Tungro
virus by N. virescens.
Management of Hoppers:
• Avoid close planting and Provide alleyways or pathways of 30 cm width after every 2 - 3 meters
• Control irrigation by alternate wetting and drying.
• Avoid excessive use of nitrogen
• Release of natural enemies like Lycosa pseudoannulata (spider), Cyrtorhinus lividipennis (mirid bug) adults (200-250
bugs/ha) during the peak incidence of BPH. During the time of field preparation, sheltering site of spiders can be made by
putting bundles of paddy straw in upright position inserting on a stick at the bunds of the field.
This will serve as sheltering place for the predators and multiply and spread their population after transplantation of crop
• Set up light traps during night or yellow pan traps during day time
• Drain the water before use of insecticides and direct the spray towards the base of the plants
• Alternate wetting and drying of the infested field should be taken up.
• ETL – 8-10 nymphs/ clump.
• Apply Flonicamide @150g/ha
Pymetrozine @ 300 g/ha
Buprofezin @750 ml/ha
Dinetofuran @200g/ha
Thiamethoxam@150 g/ha
Rice gundhi bug Leptocorisa acuta(Thunberg) (Coreidae:Hemiptera)
Marks of Identification:
Adults are slender, about 15-17 mm long and greenish brown.
They have long legs and antennae with four joints (13-15 mm long).
The newly hatched nymph is about 2 mm long and is yellowish green.
However, as it grows, the green colour deepens. The grown up nymphs
are very similar to the adults in colour and size, but they are wingless.
Nature of damage:
Rice fields severely attacked by this pest emit a repugnant smell
which gives to this pest the name 'gundhi' bug. The nymphs and the
adults suck juice from the developing grains in the milky stage, causing
incompletely filled panicles or panicles with empty grains. Black or
brown spots appear around the holes made by the bugs on which a
sooty mould may develop.
Life History :
The females lay 24-30 round yellow eggs in rows on the leaves. The
eggs hatch in about 6 or 7 days and the nymphs grow to maturity in six
stages within 2 or 3 weeks. The adult bugs live for 33-35 days. The pest
is essentially diurnal and is most active in the morning and in the
evening
Management:
▪ Application of NSKE @5% may be taken up from flowering at an interval of 10 days continuously.
▪ The nymphs and adults can be collected mechanically by using hand net in the morning hours.
▪ The population can be suppressed by killing the bugs by using light traps, collecting the adults with nets
▪ Mass traping using fermented snails/ fish/meat, however, the attracted bugs should not be allowed to move
away again
▪ destroying the weeds to remove alternate hosts.
▪ Spray Thiamethoxam @ 40g/ac
Rice hispa Dicladispa armigera (Oliver) (Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera)
Nature of damage:
On hatching, the young grubs feed as leaf-miners, between the upper
and lower epidermis. The attacked leaves turn membranous, showing
characteristic blisters or blotches. Later on, the attacked leaves wither
and die. Apart from the damage caused by larvae as leaf-miners, the
adults also feed on green matter and produce parallel whitish streaks
on the leaves. The damage starts in nurseries and spreads to the rice
fields.
Management:
• Dislodging the beetles by dragging a rope across the flooded field
or By dragging a boom stick may be also useful.
• Destroy the alternate host plants.
• Ploughing the field after the harvesting.
• Collect adults and kill them in Kerosinised water.
• Spraying the crop with lambda- cyhalothrin 20 ml in 10 liters of
water will give better control of these pests.
Rice swarming caterpillar Spodoptera mauritia (Guenee) (Noctuidae: Lepidoptera)
Damage symptoms
This is a sporadic pest but causes very serious damage to young crops
when it appears in large numbers. The caterpillars feed at night and hide
during the day. Larvae cut the seedlings in large scale and appears as if
grazed by cattle by its nocturnal feeding They feed gregariously and
march from field to field. It breeds on a variety of grasses.
Management
➢ Deep summer ploughing
➢ Crop rotation with non-host crop
➢ Conserve larval parasitoids and pupal parasitoids
➢ Protect vertebrate predators of the larvae viz., House Crow and bird
➢ Flood the nursery to expose the hiding larvae to the surface for birds to
pick them up.
➢ Apply Kerosene during irrigation to suffocate and kill the larvae.
➢ Allow ducks into the field to feed on the larvae.
➢ Drain water from nursery and spray Fipronil @ 1L/ha or
Chlorpyriphos+ Cypermethrin @ 1L/ha during late evening.
Thrips: Stenchaetothrips biformis (Thripidae: Thysanoptera)

Symptoms of damage:
• Leaf shows discoloration and rolling
• Yellow (or) silvery streaks on the leaves of young seedlings
• Terminal rolling and drying of leaves from tip to base
• It causes damage both in nursery and main field
• Leaf tips wither off when severely infested
• Unfilled grains at panicle stage

Management: Spray Thiamethoxam

Rice skipper: Pelopidas mathias (Hesperidae: Lepidoptera)

Symptom of damage:
• Edges of the leaves are fastened with webbing
• Backward rolling of leaves
• Caterpillar feeds from margin to inwards

Management:
•Parasitoids and predators usually control skippers naturally
•Eggs of rice skippers are parasitized by small wasps. spiders feed on
the adults during flight.
•A nuclear polyhedrosis virus also infects skipper larvae.
Rice horned caterpillar: Melanitis leda ismene, Nymphalidae, Lepidoptera

Symptom of damage:
• Larva feeds on leaf blades of rice.
• Leaves are defoliated from the margin
or tip irregularly
Management
Natural biological control agents often keep the
larval population under control. For example,
the eggs are parasitized
by trichogrammatid wasps.
Grasshopper: Hieroglyphus banian Acrididae, orthoptera

Symptoms of damage:
• Irregular feeding on seedlings and leaf blade
• Cutting of stem at panicle stage
• Completely defoliate the plants leaving only the mid ribs

•Management:
•Cut the soil with a spade or rake and plaster the lands
especially in rice field and water channels to destroy the
egg pods.
Whorl maggot: Hydrellia sasakii (Ephydridae, Diptera)
Symptom of damage:
• Maggot feeds on the tender tissue inside the whorl
• Yellowish white longitudinal marginal blotching with hole
• Leaves shrivelled plant stunted and maturity delayed
• Drooping of young leaves near the tip
Management:
Remove the alternate hosts and adopt early planting
•Optimum recommendation of potash fertilizer
•Spray cartap Hydrochloride
Mealybug: Brevennia rehi (Pseudococcidae, Hemiptera)

reproduction is mainly through parthenogenesis

Symptom of damage:
• Large number of insects remains in leaf sheath
and suck the sap.
• Plants become week, yellowish and very much stunted
• in circular patches.
• Presence of white waxy fluff in leaf sheaths

Management:
•Remove the grasses and trim the bunds
•Augment bio-control agents like coccinellids, spiders in the rice field.
•Spray any one of the following
oBuprofezin (25 SC) @ 200 ml/ ac
oThiamethoxam 20 WDG @ 100 g/ ac
Panicle rice mite : Steneotarsonemus spinki , Tarsonemidae, Acarina

Damage : The panicle rice mite injures rice plants both directly by feeding on cells of rice leaves, stems and
panicle and indirectly by vectoring and/or facilitating the establishment of pathogens. Feeding damage can result
in a sterile grain syndrome, which is described as a loose and brownish flag leaf sheath, a twisted panicle neck,
impaired grain development with empty or partially filled grains with brown spots and panicles standing erect.
Malformed grains sometimes show a curved appearance, often referred to as “parrot-beak.” Damage to the leaf
sheath reduces the photosynthetic potential of the plant and can have a negative effect on fertility.
Management:
• Stubble management
• Crop rotation
• Predatory mite
• Spiromecifen