Without proper pest control, you can lose a rice crop.
Efficient pest control for rice crops is vital, because it only takes a 10 percent decrease in global crops to put millions at risk of hunger, famine and even death. Rice is a domesticated annual grass that provides essential food for over one-fifth of the world's population. When the pests that affect rice decimated 18th century Japanese crops, l2,000 people died from hunger. Does this Spark an idea?
Pests Affecting Roots and Stems
Termites and rice water weevils damage the roots of rice plants. Termites are common pests that take advantage of dry spells to attack rice crops in West Africa. Rice weevil larvae cause major crop damage in the U.S. by eating plant roots. Stem boring insects, such as moths, lay eggs on plant leaves and their larvae bore into the stem when they hatch, causing damaged or missing grain kernels. U.S. pests that affect rice stems include sugarcane and rice stalk borers.
Pests Feeding on Young Plants
Golden apple snails, also known as Argentine apple or golden miracle snails, affect young rice plants in Asian countries like China, Indonesia and Japan. These snails destroy young plants by cutting off leaves or whole stems. Batches of between 50 and 500 pink eggs hatch after 15 days at most. Adult snails feed heavily for 1 1/2 months and are capable of hibernation within the soil during dry spells. Snails only live for approximately two months, but they quickly increase populations in affected areas, because these snails mate all year around when water is available.
Pests Carrying Viruses
Leafhoppers are Asian pests that affect rice plants by feeding on the sap of leaves. Afflicted plants dry out, turn brown, and are described as "hopper burnt," because they resemble fire-damaged crops. Leafhoppers also carry a serious viral diseases, such as the rice tungro virus. This virus turns leaves brown and spotty; it is one of the most severe diseases affecting rice crops in Southeast Asia. Leafhoppers feeding on diseased plants carry this virus for between five and seven days, transferring it to each plant they visit. The brown planthopper is another Asian pest that not only sucks out the sap, causing the death of affected rice plants, but also carrying the grassy stunt virus.
Pests Attacking Leaves
Many kinds of insects feed on the leaves of rice plants, partially defoliating them. Examples of common types include larval and adult beetles and moths. In the U.S., the rice weevil and common armyworm eat the leaves of plants. These plants are able to grow new leaves to replace those eaten if the damage occurs early on in the life cycle. Any reduction in leaves results in a lessened ability to make food by photosynthesis.
Pests Attacking Grains
Insects that affect rice by feeding on the white liquid from developing grains are known as "grain suckers." Stink bugs are North American grain sucker pests. These insects posses specially developed mouth parts for extracting the liquid, known as "milk," from grains. After early attacks, plants refill their grains. Rice plants cannot recover from later attacks and yield rice contaminated by bacteria or fungi injected into the grains by infected insects. Harvests of these infected grains are called "pecky rice."
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