AEN 301 Pests of Field Crops

and Their Management (1+1)

Dr. T. Abdul Razak

Professor
(Agrl. Entomology)
Pests of rice (Sucking Pests)
 Rice Thrips
Stenchaetothrips biformis
Fam : Thripidae
Ord : Thysanoptera
• Dark brown species
• Discovered in 1915 from T.N
• Wide distribution
Rice seedlings (nursery) & young plants (main
field)
Serious during dry season
Thrips
 Damage symptoms
• Ny and Ad lacerate tender leaves and
suck the plant sap
• Damage both in nursery and main field
• Leaves – silvery streaks / yellowish
patches
• Leaves roll longitudinally
• Severe infestation- whole plant dries
 Life cycle
• Adults – dark brown, 1mm long
5 - 8 segmented antenna
Eggs inserted inside young leaf blade
EP- 2-3 d
Fecundity – 25 eggs / female in 2 weeks
Larvae (nymphs) – unopened young leaves
Prepupa- brown
Pupa- long wing pads
Life cycle – 2 weeks
 Management
• Flooding the seedlings (1-2 days)
• Resistant cultivars – Ptb33,IET 8200,
8258,8283 (phenols,gallic acid)
• Biological control : predatory thrips and
bugs
Haplothrips sp., Podothrips lucasseni,
Orius sp.
• Nursery
• Seed treatment with Imidacloprid 48FS @ 2.5
g/kg seed.
• An area of 800 sq.m. (20 cents) nursery is
required for planting one ha of main field.
Forty litres of spray fluid is required for
spraying the nursery area.
• Sampling: Wet your palm with water and pass
over the foliage in 12 places at random in the
nursery and count the number of thrips.
• ETL: If thrips population > 60 numbers in 12
passes or if rolling of half of leaf area of first and
2nd leaves in 10% of seedlings is noticed.
• Spray any one of the following insecticides:
• Monocrotophos 36% SL 40 ml
• Thiamethoxam 25% WG 4 g
Mainfield
• Azadirachtin 0.15% W/W 1.5 – 2.5 kg /ha
• Thiamethoxam 25% WG 100 g /ha
• Fipronil 0.05 %
II. Green Leafhopper (GLH)
Nephotettix virescens
N. nigropictus
N. malayanus
N. cincticeps
Fam : Cicadellidae ; Ord : Hemiptera
GLH Egg Masses
 Damage symptoms
• Ny and Ad – dorsal surface of leaf
• Ny & Ad- desap leaves – Yellowing from to
tip - Hopper burn
• Vector for Rice Tungro Virus (RTV)
Yellow Dwarf
Transitory yellowing
Yellow orange leaf
• N. virescens : Ny soft bodied , yellowish
white – gradually change to green.
• Ad- 3-5 mm long, bright green with variable balck
markings- wedge shaped- diagonal movement
• Male –black spot in middle of forewing
 Life Cycle
• Ad- 4 – 5 mm long, slender , green with
black spot on wings
• Eggs laid in leaf sheath in mass (5-17
eggs)
• Ep : 6-7 d
• 5 ny instars (18 days)
• ETL: 60 Nos. / 25 sweeping or 20/m2 –
Nursery
10 Nos. / hill - Flowering stage
5 Nos. / hill - Vegetative stage
2 Nos. / hill - Tungro endemic area
 Management
Nursery
• Maintain 2.5 cm of water in the nursery
and broadcast carbofuran 3% G @ 3.5 kg
in 20 cents
Main field
• Plough the stubbles – Yellow dwarf
pathogen
• R- vars : IR 26, IR 30, Jaya, Ratna, Pankaj,
Bhavani
• SRI
• Rogue space
• Predatory bug : Cyrtorhinus lividipennis
Damsel fly, dragon fly, spider, nematode,
fungus
GLH
 RTV
• Yellow or orange-yellow discoloration begins from the
leaf tip and extends down to the blade or the lower leaf
portion.
• Infected leaves show mottled or striped appearance,
rust-colored spots, and inter-veinal necrosis.
• Symptoms of stunting, delayed flowering which may
delay maturity, reduced number of tillers, small and not
completely exerted panicles, as well as a higher than
normal percentage of sterile panicles or partially filled
grains, covered with dark brown blotches.
• Spray any one of the following insecticides twice,
15 and 30 days after transplanting per ha:
• Phosphamidon 40% SL 1000 ml
• Carbofuran 3% CG 25 kg
• Buprofezin 25% SC 800 g
• Carbosulfan 25% EC 800-1000 ml
• Fipronil 5% SC 1000-1500 g
• Imidacloprid 17.8% SL 100 -125 ml
• Thiamethoxam 25% WG 100 g
• The vegetation on the bunds should also be
sprayed with the insecticides
• Set up light traps to attract and control the
leafhoppers as well as to monitor the vector
population
• Destroy/ kill the leafhoppers attracted to light trap
 III. White Leafhopper
• Cofana spectra
Cicadellidae, Hemiptera
Ny and Ad suck the sap
Yellowing of leaves, reduction in tillers, no earhead
production,
Second half of crop growth period attacked
Abundant during summer
ETL : 60 / 25 net sweepings
Chemical control: Spray methyl demeton 25% EC
500-1000 ml/ha
WLH
• Ny – elongate, pale green
• Adult-yellowish white, swollen head, 4
black spots on vertex
• 3-4 times larger than GLH
• Biggest of rice hoppers
 Zig-zag leafhopper (ZLH)
• Recilia dorsalis
• Cicadellidae, Hemiptera
• Ad-whitish-grey hopper with v-shaped zig-zag pale
brown bands- W on forewing
• Tip drying and orange discoloration on leaf margins
• Vector for orange leaf (virus) ; Yellow dwarf
(Mycoplasma)
• ETL : 5 /hill (Tillering stage)
10 / hill (post flowering stage)
ZLH
 V. Blue leafhopper (BLH)
• Empoascanara maculifrons
Cicadellidae ; Hemiptera
Ny & Ad suck leaf sap
Whitish waxy lines on leaf blades- subsequent
drying - Hopper burn occasionally
Small blue leafhopper- yellowish vertex, black
patch in the middle of pronotum.
Spray methyl demeton 25% EC 500-1000 ml/ha
 VI. Brown planthopper (BPH)
• Nilaparvata lugens
• Delphacidae ; Hemiptera
• Hopper burn in circular patches
• Yellowing, browning
• Sooty mould
• Vector – grassy stunt and ragged stunt
viral diseases
BPH
BPH damage
• Ny and Ad congregate at base of plant
• Brachypterous
• Macropterous
• LC : 19 -23 d
• Biotypes : 5 nos.
• Eggs inserted in leaf sheath, banana shaped, 9-
32 eggs/ cluster,
• Incubation period : 6 -11 d
• Ny – 5 instars (13-15 d)
• Hind tibia – movable spur
 Grassy stunt virus
Severely stunted plants
Excessive tillering
Grassy and rosette appearance of
plants
Yellowish green leaves that are
shorter and narrower than normal
Leaves that remain yellow even
after application of sufficient
nitrogen fertilizers
Numerous small rusty spots or
patches on leaves, which merge
into blotches
Leaves have a mottled
appearance
Plants that fail to produce panicles
Symptoms similar to rice yellow
dwarf disease
 Rice Ragged Stunt Virus
Severe stunting during early crop stages
Green leaves with darker than normal color
Leaves with serrated uneven edges
Leaves appearing yellow to yellow-brown and
twisted into spiral shapes at the base of leaf
blades
Swollen veins developing on leaf blades and
sheaths
Galls on the underside of leaf blades and outer
surface of leaf sheaths
Twisted, malformed flag leaves that are
shortened at booting stage
Delayed flowering
Incomplete panicle emergence
Partially exerted panicles and unfilled grains
Yield loss up to 80 %
 ETL
• 1 hopper/ tiller in the absence of predatory
spider
• 2 hoppers / tiller when spider is present at
1/hill.
 Management
• TKM 6, Ptb 33, IR46,Co 42, ASD 7
• Avoid closer spacing
• Rogue spacing (1 ft for every 8 feet)
• Synchronized planting
• Excessive use of N- fertilizer – No
• SRI
 Predators
• Lycosa pseudoannulata – spider
• Microvelia sp. – veiid bug
• Paederus fuscipes – rove beetle
• Cyrtorhinus lividipennis – mirid bug

Parasitoids : Dryinid, stylops

• Herding ducks
• Neem application
• ETL : 1 -2 / tiller
• Need based chemical insecticide
• Avoid resurgence causing I-cides ( MP,
diazinon, fenthion, quinalphos, SP)
• Avoid excessive use of nitrogen
• Control irrigation by intermittent draining
• Set up light traps during night or yellow pan traps
duringday time
• Drain water before use of insecticides
• Direct spray towards the base of the plants.
• Spray any one of the following insecticides per ha:
• Acephate 75 % SP 666-1000 g
• Acetamiprid 20% SP 50-100 g
• Azadirachtin 0.03% 1000 ml
• Neem oil 3% 15 lit
• Buprofezin 25% SC 800 ml
• Carbosulfan 25% EC 800-1000 ml
• Clothianidin 50% WG 20-24 g
• Chlorantraniliprole 18.5% SC 150 g
• Chlorantraniliprole 0.4% G 10 kg
• Chlorpyriphos 1.5% DP 25 kg
• Chlorpyriphos 20% EC 1250 ml
• Dinotefuran 20% SG 150-200g
• Fenobucarb 50% EC 500-1500 ml
• Fipronil 5% SC 1000-1500 ml
• Fipronil 0.3% GR 16.67-25 kg
• Imidacloprid 70% WG 30-35 kg
• Imidacloprid 17.8 SL 100-125 ml
• Pymetrozine 50% WG 300g
 VII. White backed plant hopper
(WBPH)
• Sogatella furcifera
• Delphacidae, Hemiptera
• Hopper burn symptom (linear irregular
patches)
• Herding ducks
• ETL : 1 / tiller
• Chemical control same
WBPH
• Spray any one of the following insecticides per ha:
• Phosphamidon 40% SL 1000 ml
• Azadirachtin 0.03% 1000 ml
• Buprofezin 25% SC 800 ml
• Carbosulfan 25% EC 800-1000 ml
• Chlorantraniliprole 18.5% SC 150 g
• Chlorantraniliprole 0.4% G 10 kg
• Fipronil 5% SC 1000-1500 ml
• Fipronil 0.3% GR 16.67-25 kg
• Imidacloprid 70% WG 30-35 kg
• Imidacloprid 17.8% SL 100-125 ml
 Earhead Bug
• Leptocorisa acuta
• L. oratorius
• Alydidae ; Hemiptera
• Appears flowering stage till panicle ripens
• Strong foul smell
• Weeds alternate hosts
• Brownish spots on grains
• Chaffy grains – partially / entirely
Ear head bug
 Life cycle
• Ad – gr.brown, 17mm long, 50-60 days
• 100 eggs / female in single or double rows
• Ep – 7 days
• Ny – pale yellowish green
• 5 nymphal instars (15-21 d)
• TLC : 30 days
 ETL

• 5 bugs/100 ear heads at flowering

• 16 bugs/100 ear heads from milky stage to
grain maturity
• Management
• Trimming & plastering – weed control
• Staggered planting avoided
• Adults – trapped in light trap
Biological control – predators and
parasitoids
ETL : 5 bugs / 100 ears at flowering stage
16 bugs/ 100 ears (milky stage)
• Dust/ spray any one of the following, the first during
• flowering and second a week later (per ha):
• Quinalphos 1.5% D 25 kg
• Malathion 50% EC 500 ml
• Neem seed kernel extract 5% (25 kg kernel/ha)
• Notchi or Ipomoea or Prosopis leaf extract 10%
• KKM 10% D 25 kg
 IX. Mealy bug
• Brevennia rehi
• Pseudococcidae ; Hemiptera
Dry spell and grassy weeds – favour
Weeds – Echinochloa sp. and Cyperus sp.
Soorai disease
Damage symptoms
Inside leaf sheath and suck the sap
Round or oval sunken patches
Mealy bug
• Affected patches die
• Never produce normal panicles
• Distorted and chaffy panicles
• Yellowing and stunting of crop
• Mealy bug- reddish white, soft bodied
• Fecundity 126-139 eggs in leaf sheath
• Reproduction by parthenogenetically
• Management
• Trimming of bunds
• Predators and parasitoids
• Chemical control
 Black bug
• Scotinophara lurida, S. coarctata
Podopidae ; Hemiptera
Brownish black bugs at base of plants
Ny & Ad feed from plant culm at the base (From tillering to
flowering)
Also sucks sap from leaf sheath, leaves and panicles
Tillering stage- dead heart, stunted growth with few tillers
• Leaves turn reddish brown or yellow and dry.
• Reproductiv stage- panicle devt affected- white ears
• Severe cases- plants wilt, dry and turn bug burned
similar to hopper burn in BPH damage.
Black bug
• Ad- brownish black bugs, prominent
scutellum, pronotum having spine on either
side
• Eggs masses on stem & leaves
• Eggs- greenish turn pinkish on eclosion
• Ny- brown with yellowish green abdomen
with 2-3 black scent glands
• Spray neem seed kernel extract 5% (25 kg
kernel/ha)
 Earhead stink bug
• Shield bug/ Red spotted bug
• Menida histrio
• Pentatomidae, Hemiptera
• Both Ny & Ad suck earhead – individual grains
chaffy
• Eggs laid on leaves
 Rice Striped Bug
• Tetroda histeroides
• Pentatomidae, Hemiptera
• Ny & Ad suck sap from stem
• Stunting and yellowing of tillers
• Ad- brown – v shaped mark on back
• Eggs- cylindrical, undersurface of leaves, laid in
rows
• Tamil – Nama vandu
 Rice leaf mite

• Oligonychus oryzae
• Tetranychidae, Acarina
• Yellowish to reddish mites on upper surface of
leaves
• Discoloration of leaves to yellowish with minute
spots, speckles
• Leaves bleached bet veins and shredded
• Spray any one of the following insecticides per
ha:
• Dicofol 18.5% EC 1250 ml
• Azadirachtin 0.03% 1000 ml
 Rice Sheath / Panicle mite
• Seneotarsonemus spinki
• Tarsonmidae, Acarina
• Mites –in between stem and leaf sheath in
colonies and attach leaf sheath
• Decaying of sheath – fungus Sacropaladium
oryzae- poorly exerted heads and necrotic leaf
sheath
• Affected glumes – brownish to black lemma and
paleae and shrivelled ovaries