1
INSECT PESTS OF RICE
1. Rice Stem Borer, Scirpophaga incertulas (Pyralidae: Lepidoptera):
Distribution: It is also called Yellow stem borer and is the most destructive pest in South
India and is very common throughout the Oriental region.
Host plants: Rice.
Life history: Female lays 120-150 eggs on underside of leaves in clusters of 60-100 eggs.
Eggs are covered with yellowish brown hairs from the female tuft. Eggs hatch in 6-7 days.
After killing a tiller, larvae migrate to other tillers. Larval period is 16-27 days and there are 6
larval instars. The caterpillar constructs an emergence hole located above the water level
and pupates inside. Pupal period is 9-12 das and total life cycle is 31-46 days.
Seasonal history: In Punjab, it is active from April-October but is most serious during
August-Sept. it hibernates as full grown caterpillar in the stubbles from Nov-March. The last
brood larva makes silken hibernacula in the stubbles. There are 4-5 generations in a year.
Nature of damage: Caterpillars bore into the stem and feed on tissues inside.
Symptoms of damage: In early stages, dead hearts are seen and the plant is killed. But in
later stages, empty earheads which are white and erect are observed (White earheads).
Control:
• The fields showing more than 5% dead hearts (Economic Threshold Level, ETL) should
be sprayed with:
• 60 ml Coragen 18.5 SC (chlorantraniliprole) or
• 20 ml Fame 480 SC (flubendiamide) or
• 170 g of Mortar 75 SG (cartap hydrochloride) or
• 1 litre of Coroban/ Dursban/ Lethal/ Chlorguard/ Durmet/ Classic/ Force 20 EC
(chlorpyriphos) or
• 80 ml neem based bio-pesticide, Ecotin (azadirachtin 5%) in 100 litres of water per acre.
• Further application of any of these insecticides may be repeated as and when damage
reaches economic threshold level.
• Prefer Ecotin at pest initiation stage.
In Basmati rice:
• ETL: As and when there are more than 2% dead hearts in the field, spray:
• Neem based biopesticide, 80 ml Ecotin (azadirachtin 5%) or
• 1000 ml Achook/Neem Kavach (azadirachtin 0.15%) or
• 20 ml Fame 480 SC (flubendiamide) or
• 170 g Mortar 75 SG (cartap hydrochloride) or
• 60 ml Coragen 18.5 SC (chlorantraniliprole) or
• 1.0 litre Coroban/ Dursban/ Lethal/ Chlorguard/ Durmet/ Classic/ Force 20 EC
(chlorpyriphos) or
• 15 g Fipronil 80% WG (fipronil) in 100 litres of water per acre.
• Prefer Ecotin or Achook/Neem Kavach at pest initiation stage.
It can also be controlled by applying:
• 4 kg Ferterra 0.4 GR (chlorantraniliprole) or
• 4 kg Vibrant 4 GR (thiocyclam hydrogen oxalate) or
• 10 kg Padan/Caldan/Kritap/Sanvex/ Nidan/Marktap/Miftap/ Faltap-G/ Katsu 4 G (cartap
hydrochloride) or
• 6 kg Regent/Mortel/ Mifpro-G/Mahaveer GR/Shinzen 0.3 G (fipronil) or
• 4 kg Dursban 10 G (chlorpyriphos) per acre in standing water.
• Use gloves while applying granular insecticides.
2
2. White-backed planthopper, Sogatella furcifera (Delphicidae: Hemiptera):
Brown planthopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Delphicidae: Hemiptera)
Distribution: It is generally serious in southern states where crop is grown throughout the
year.
Host plants: Rice.
Life history: Adult female lays eggs on leaf sheath and eggs hatch in 3-5 days. Nymphal
period is 9-13 days. Adults live for a week. Life cycle is completed in 13-18 days.
Seasonal history: In north India, planthoppers appear on nursery in May, but the peak
activity period is from Aug-Sept. There are many generations in a year. It remains active
during winters in north India.
Nature of damage: Both nymphs and adults suck the sap from the leaf surface and
congregate on leaf sheath at the base of the plant.
Symptoms of damage: Leaves turn yellow and later on rust red. Symptoms start from leaf
tip and brown spots appear at the feeding sites. Attacked plants dry up without producing
ears. The crop dries up in patches (Hopper burn). As the plants dry up, the hoppers migrate
to the adjoining plants and kill them. In a few days, the area of the dry patches enlarges.
Pest also excretes honeydew on which black sooty mould appears, giving it a smoky hue to
the paddy fields.
Control:
• About one month after transplanting, a few plants in the field should be slightly tilted and
tapped 2 or 3 times at the base at weekly interval.
• When minimum 5 planthoppers per hill (ETL) are seen floating in the water, spray:
• 94 ml Pexalon 10 SC (triflumezopyrim) or
• 80 g Osheen 20 SG (dinotefuran) or
• 120 g Chess 50 WG (pymetrozine) or
• 800 ml Ekalux/Quinguard/Quinalmass 25 EC (quinalphos) in 100 litres of water per acre.
Repeat the spray if necessary.
• For better effectiveness, use knapsack sprayer while directing its spray towards the
base of the plants.
• If the damage is noticed at hopper burn stage, treat the affected spots along with their 3-
4 metre periphery immediately as these spots harbour high population of the insect
3. Rice hispa, Dicladispa armigera (Chrysomelidae: Coleoptera):
Distribution: It is distributed throughout India, but is more serious in Gurdaspur and
Amritsar districts of Punjab.
Host plants: Rice.
Life history: In May, beetles start laying eggs on nursery plants. Eggs are embedded in the
leaf tissue towards the tip. Eggs hatch in 7-10 days and on hatching, young grubs feed as
leaf miners between upper and lower epidermis. Grub stage is 30-40 days. Pupation takes
place inside the leaf blisters. Pupal period is 10-15 days.
Seasonal history: It is active from May-October and hibernates as adult during winters.
There are 2-3 generations in a year.
Nature of damage: Grubs feed as leaf miners between upper and lower epidermis of leaf.
Adults feed on green matter of leaves.
Symptoms of damage: The grubs tunnel into the leaves, whereas the adults are exposed
feeders. In case of grubs, attacked leaves turn membranous and show characteristic
blisters/blotches. Later on, the attacked leaves wither and dry up. Adults feed by scrapping
out the green matter between veins of leaves and produce parallel white streaks.
Control:
• If the attack starts in the nursery, clip-off and destroy the leaf tips of the affected
seedlings before transplanting.
3
On the transplanted crop, spray:
• 800 ml Ekalux 25 EC (quinalphos) or
• One litre Dursban 20 EC (chlorpyriphos) in 100 litres of water per acre with a
manually operated sprayer.
4. Rice leaf folder, Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Pyralididae: Lepidoptera):
Distribution: It is a sporadic pest and is distributed in India, Pakistan, Indonesia, Korea,
Malaysia, Philippines.
Host plants: Rice.
Life history: Moths are nocturnal and sit on the undersurface of leaves during day. Eggs
are laid singly or in pairs on the leaves and leaf sheaths. Eggs hatch in 3-4 days. Larvae are
very active and move quickly in the leaf fold when disturbed. Larval stage is 15-25 days.
Pupation takes place in loose silken webs in between the leaves or in the leaf sheaths.
Pupal period is 6-8 days. Life cycle ranges from 25-35 days.
Seasonal history: It is active from July-Nov but the peak activity period is from Aug-Oct.
Nature of damage: Young larvae feed on tender leaves without folding them. Older larvae
fasten the longitudinal margins of leaf and feed inside the fold by scrapping the green
matter.
Symptoms of damage: Scrapped leaves become membranous, turn white and finally
wither. Heavily infested crop has streaks on the leaves and appears whitish from a distance.
The photosynthetic activity is interfered.
Control:
• When the leaf damage reaches 10% (ETL), adopt the following control measures:
Mechanical Control:
• The mechanical control of leaf folder can be done only before flowering by passing the
20-30 m long coir/jute rope, forwards and then backwards, both ways while touching the
crop canopy.
• While passing the rope, ensure that water must be standing in the crop.
Chemical Control:
• Spray the crop with 60 ml Coragen 18.5 SC (chlorantraniliprole) or
• 20 ml Fame 480 SC (flubendiamide) or
• 170 g of Mortar 75 SG (cartap hydrochloride) or
• 1 litre of Coroban/Durmet/Force 20 EC (chlorpyriphos) or
• 80 ml neem based bio-pesticide, Ecotin (azadirachtin 5%) in 100 litres of water per acre.
• Prefer Ecotin at pest initiation stage
For controlling stem borer and leaf folder in Organic Rice/Basmati:
• Use two tricho-cards each of Trichogramma japonicum and T. chilonis per acre, each
card having 20,000 parasitized eggs of Corcyra cephalonica, 5-6 times at weekly
interval, starting from 30 days after transplanting.
• Cut each tricho-card into 20 strips, each having approximately 1000 parasitized eggs.
• Staple these strips on the underside of leaves uniformly at 40 spots per acre during
evening hours.
• Spray neem based 80 ml of Ecotin (azadirachtin 5%) or 1000 ml of Neem Kavach/
Achook (azadirachtin 0.15%) in 100 litre of water per acre at pest initiation stage.
5. Small Rice Grasshopper, Oxya nitidula (Acrididae: Orthoptera):
Distribution: It is widely distributed in Oriental region and is of sporadic occurrence. In
Punjab, it is serious in low-lying areas of Amritsar, Gurdaspur and Hoshiarpur.
Host plants: It is a polyphagous pest and feeds on maize, sorghum, rice, sugarcane, etc.
4
Life history: Nymphs moult 6-7 times by June and nymphal period is 60-64 days. Adult
longevity is 40-50 days. The adult females of first brood lay eggs in the soil instead on the
plants.
Seasonal history: It is active from March-Dec. It passes the winter in egg stage in the soil.
Overwintered eggs hatch in March. Nymphs feed on berseem, khabbal and other available
host crops. Adults feed on various kharif crops.
Nature of damage: Adults and nymphs eat leaves of berseem, kharif cereals and
sugarcane. Later in the season, adults congregate on rice, eat foliage and attack the base of
rice panicle. In case of serious infestation, the plants may be completely defoliated and the
crops such as berseem may be wiped out.
Control: Insecticides recommended against planthopper are also effective against this pest.
6. Rice bug, Leptocorisa acuta (Coreidae: Hemiptera):
Distribution: It is commonly known as Gundhi bug and is a minor pest of rice. It is widely
distributed in India, Orient and Australia.
Host plants: Rice, maize, millets, sugarcane and some grasses.
Life history: It breeds throughout the year. Female lays 24-30 eggs in rows on the leaves
which hatch in 6-7 days. Nymphs grow through 6 stages within 2-3 weeks. Adults are long-
lived (33-35 days).
Seasonal history: It is active throughout the year. It overwinters in adult stage on grasses
and various other green plants. On paddy, it is most serious from end August to October.
Many generations are completed in a year.
Nature of damage: Nymphs and adults suck the cell sap from developing grains at milky
stage.
Symptoms of damage: Severely attacked field gives pungent (bad) smell. Panicles are with
empty grains. Black or brown spots appear around the holes made by the bug on which
black sooty mould develops.
Control: Insecticides recommended against planthopper are also effective against this pest.
