Pesticides are commonly used in food crop production systems to control crop pests and diseases and ensure maximum yield with high market value. However, the accumulation of these chemical inputs in crop fields increases risks to biodiversity and human health. In addition, people are increasingly seeking foods in which pesticide residues are low or absent and that have been produced in a sustainable fashion. More than half of the world’s human population is dependent on rice as a staple food and chemical pesticides to control pests is the dominant paradigm in rice production. In contrast, the use of natural enemies to suppress crop pests has the potential to reduce chemical pesticide inputs in rice production systems. Currently, predators and parasitoids often do not persist in rice production landscapes due to the absence of shelter or nutritional sources. In this study, we modified the existing rice landscape through an eco-engineering technique that aims to increase natural biocontrol agents for crop protection. In this system, planting nectar-rich flowering plants on rice bunds provides food and shelter to enhance biocontrol agent activity and reduce pest numbers, while maintaining grain yield. The abundance of predators and parasitoids and parasitism rates increased significantly in the eco-engineering plots compared to the insecticide-treated and control plots. Moreover, a significantly lower number of principal insect pests and damage symptoms were found in treatments where flowering plants were grown on bunds than in plots where such plants were not grown. This study indicates that manipulating habitat for natural enemies in rice landscapes enhances pest suppression and maintains equal yields while reducing the need for insecticide use in crop fields.

Key Words: Chickpea; cultivars; sowing time; growth; yield. DOI: 10.3329/bjar.v34i2.5807Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 34(2): 335-342, June 2009

The influence of different temperatures on biological parameters of native strains of Trichogramma zahiri Polaszek (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae), an egg parasitoid of rice hispa, Dicladispa armigera (Olivier) (Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera), was evaluated in the laboratory on its host. The key biological parameters of the parasitoid T. zahiri in relation to temperature were investigated to find out its candidature as a potential biological control agent of rice hispa. The highest number of eggs parasitized by T. zahiri was 15.7 eggs per female at 26 °C, which differed significantly from those at 18, 22, 30, and 34 °C (P < 0.05). Development duration and longevity of T. zahiri decreased as temperature increased. Fecundity differed significantly at all constant temperatures. Emergence rates decreased at both high (34 °C) and low ( < 26 °C) temperatures. Female-biased sex ratio ranged from 54 to 70% at all constant temperatures. The lower temperature threshold for T. zahiri was 6.2 °C for males and 6.95 °C for females. The upper threshold temperatures were 35.82 and 35.87 °C for males and females, respectively. Net reproductive rate (R0) was highest at 26 °C compared with other temperatures. Mean cohort generation time (tG) and population doubling time (tD) decreased as temperature increased from 18 to 30 °C. The daily intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite rate of increase (λ) were positively correlated with temperatures ranging from 18 to 30 °C and then decreased at 34 °C. The relevance of our results is discussed in the context of climatic adaptation and biological control.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM), developed by the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) for management of rice insect pests, was demonstrated and validated through intensive investigation in farmer's fields of Pirganj and Taraganj in Rangpur district during 2012-2014 in two T. Aman and Boro seasons. A portion of each farmer's field kept under the respective farmers' supervision without any intervention, which was treated as control treatment (T4). The other portion was managed with three treatment combinations ie, T1=Prophylactic use of insecticide, T2=Perching + sweeping + need based insecticide application and T3=Perching only. BRRI dhan52 and BRRI dhan58 were used in Aman and Boro seasons respectively. RCB design was followed with eight replications for data analysis. The insect infestation was monitored fortnightly by visual counting from 20 hills and also 20 complete sweeps. The insect infestation, yield and yield contributing characteristics were analysed by one way analysis of variance by Tukeys' post hoc test. The objective of this studies were to validate and demonstrate the IPM techniques in farmers' field. Yellow stem borer, rice leaf roller, long horned cricket, grasshopper, green leafhopper, brown planthopper, white-backed planthopper and gall midge were found as pests in both the locations. However, insect infestation was below the economic threshold level (ETL). No significant differences were observed for insect infestation among the treatments. Natural enemies eg, spider, ladybird beetle, dragon fly, damsel fly, carabid beetle and staphylinid beetle were noticed in both the locations. In some seasons and also locations some natural enemies were not found particularly where indiscriminate/continuous insecticide was used. Thus, it was indicated that indiscriminate/continuous use of insecticide has the detrimental effect on the population of natural enemies. Also, refrained from insecticide application at early crop stages (30-40-day after transplanting) natural enemy populations increased, which might reduce insect population below the ETL. Significantly lower yield was observed at farmers managed fields in both the locations. Therefore, it was found that indiscriminate/continuous use of insecticide had no effect on yield and yield contributing characters of rice, when insect infestation below the ETL. So, farmers could avoid continuous/indiscriminate use of insecticide, which might ultimately save production cost and the environment from insecticidal pollution as well.

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