Shiloh
Editor, Senior Moderator
Source: http://www.sciencealert.com.au/news-global-food-crisis/20102603-20763-2.html
Better ecology for better rice
Friday, 26 March 2010
International Rice Research Institute
rice.jpg
More than one million hectares of rice is loss due to outbreaks of BPH in Thailand.
Bangkok, Thailand ? Devastating outbreaks of brown planthoppers (BPH) in Thailand?s rice crop can be prevented if an eco-friendly approach to pest management is adopted, according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
The brown planthopper (BPH) is one of the most destructive pests of rice and, this season, they are in plague proportions in Thailand ? the world?s biggest exporter of rice.
Khun Manit Luecha, director of Chainat Rice Seed Center, says, ?This is the worst outbreak of BPH I have seen in my career since 1977. Most of the paddy fields ? probably more than 1 million hectares ? will suffer rice yield losses of more than 30%.?
Damage has spread from the north, especially in Khampaeng Phet and Phichit, to Suphan Buri, Chainat and Ang Thong in the Central Plains ? the rice bowl of Thailand. Damages are serious already and new outbreaks are being reported every day. BPH also transmits two viral diseases that can severely stunt and discolor the plant and prevent grain formation.
?BPH becomes a pest when natural control mechanisms fail,? says Dr. K.L. Heong, an insect ecologist at IRRI.
?To prevent outbreaks we must restore the natural environment and biodiversity to keep BPH numbers below economically damaging levels," he added. "To achieve this, farmers will have to use pesticides more strategically and adopt ecological engineering principles."
To manage BPH, IRRI recommends that farmers...
Better ecology for better rice
Friday, 26 March 2010
International Rice Research Institute
rice.jpg
More than one million hectares of rice is loss due to outbreaks of BPH in Thailand.
Bangkok, Thailand ? Devastating outbreaks of brown planthoppers (BPH) in Thailand?s rice crop can be prevented if an eco-friendly approach to pest management is adopted, according to the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
The brown planthopper (BPH) is one of the most destructive pests of rice and, this season, they are in plague proportions in Thailand ? the world?s biggest exporter of rice.
Khun Manit Luecha, director of Chainat Rice Seed Center, says, ?This is the worst outbreak of BPH I have seen in my career since 1977. Most of the paddy fields ? probably more than 1 million hectares ? will suffer rice yield losses of more than 30%.?
Damage has spread from the north, especially in Khampaeng Phet and Phichit, to Suphan Buri, Chainat and Ang Thong in the Central Plains ? the rice bowl of Thailand. Damages are serious already and new outbreaks are being reported every day. BPH also transmits two viral diseases that can severely stunt and discolor the plant and prevent grain formation.
?BPH becomes a pest when natural control mechanisms fail,? says Dr. K.L. Heong, an insect ecologist at IRRI.
?To prevent outbreaks we must restore the natural environment and biodiversity to keep BPH numbers below economically damaging levels," he added. "To achieve this, farmers will have to use pesticides more strategically and adopt ecological engineering principles."
To manage BPH, IRRI recommends that farmers...