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Establishing Next-generation Pest Control Services in Rice Fields: Eco-agriculture

M. P. Ali
Entomology Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh

M. N. Bari
Entomology Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh

S. S. Haque
Entomology Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh

M. M. M. Kabir
Entomology Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh

S. Afrin
Entomology Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh

F. Nowrin
Entomology Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh

M. S. Islam
Farm Management Division, Bangladesh Rice Research Institute, Gazipur, 1701, Bangladesh

D. A. Landis
Department of Entomology, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

Abstract/ Executive Summary:

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

Keywords: Pest control, Rice fields, Eco-agriculture, Bangladesh

Location: Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI)

Start Date:

End Date:

Program Area: Pest Management

Commodity: IPM

Objectives:

The main goal of this study was to test the efficacy of an eco-agricultural system in promoting natural enemies, reducing crop pests and maintaining rice yield.

Methodology:

Study sitesThe study was conducted at the main Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) research facility at Gazipur (24°0′N, 90°25.5′E), and regional rice field research facility at Rajshahi (24°22′26.40″N, 88°36′4.10″E), Bangladesh. Both study sites contain rice production systems typical across the country. At each facility approximately 90% of the total area is managed for rice production and thus they are representative of the regions rice production landscapes. Experimental designThe experiment was conducted over two consecutive years spanning multiple rice growing seasons. Three rice growing seasons are commonly recognized in Bangladesh termed the Aus, transplanted Aman (hereafter T. Aman) and Boro seasons. The experiments described here included the Boro and T. Aman seasons. Three treatments were used in the study. The first treatment had flowering plant borders established on the earthen bunds with no insecticides used on the rice (hereafter T₁). In the second treatment, the bund was left fallow and insecticides were applied to rice as per routine farming practices in Bangladesh (i.e. insecticide applied prophylactically at a 15-day intervals (T₂). The third treatment was a control with fallow bunds and all insecticide use withheld (T₃). The flower plant borders consisted of sunflowers (Helianthus annus, marigolds (Tagetes ssp.), and cosmos (Cosmos spp.), planted on rice bunds in the Boro season, and sesame (Sesamum indicum), planted on the bunds in the T. Aman rice-growing season. Sunflower and marigold were planted @ 15000 plants/ha and 30000 plants/ha respectively. Sesame was broadcasted on the bund @ 2 kg/ha. At each site, the overall experiment included 12 individual plots surrounded by bunds, arranged in 3 blocks and treatments were assigned to plots in a randomized complete block design (n = 3). Gazipur The mega rice cultivars, BRRI dhan28, BRRI dhan58 and BRRI dhan52, were cultivated in the Boro 2015–16 and T. Aman 2016 seasons, respectively. According to the respective cultivar production package, 30- to 40-day-old rice seedlings were manually transplanted into fields. Two to three seedlings were transplanted onto a hill at 20 × 20 cm spacing. All fertilizers and irrigation were applied subsequently according to treatment. The application of insecticide in T₂ was initiated 15-days after the date of transplanting using Virtako 40WG (thiamethoxam 20% + chlorantraniliprole 20%) applied at 75 g/ha and subsequently at 15-day intervals (3 times) over the season. Bangladeshi farmers usually apply this insecticide for rice stem borer control. Rajshahi The experiment was conducted with BRRI dhan63 during the Boro 2015–16 season and with BRRI dhan52 during the T. Aman 2016 season. Nectar-rich flowering plants (cosmos in the T. Aman season and marigold in the Boro season) were planted on the bunds in each plot of T₁. The insecticide (carbofuran 5G at 10.0 kg/ha) was applied at 15-day intervals (four times) in T₂ after the 1^st top dressing of urea.

Source of Information: Scientific Reports volume 9, Article number: 10180 (2019)

Article Link (Online Journal):

Funding Source:

1.

Budget:

Total Budget (Tk.) :

Achievement/Findings:

The highest number of natural enemies and percent parasitism of insect pest eggs by parasitoids/parasites in rice fields near nectar-rich flowering plants and the lowest number of natural enemies and parasitism were found in rice fields where insecticides were applied prophylactically. Moreover, there was no yield reduction observed in the rice field surrounded by flowering plants compared to those with insecticide applications. This suggests that farmers could avoid the use of toxic and hazardous insecticides to control insect pests by growing nectar-rich flowering plants on the bunds surrounding rice crops. This approach could help restore rice ecosystems, conserve natural enemies that ultimately help reduce production costs and chemical inputs, improve environmental protection, reduce pest infestations, and reduce labor in terms of pesticide spraying and thus increase net income. In Bangladesh, the land is fragmented into numerous patches of small size with boundaries that can be used to grow flowering plants. This creates more opportunities to use this technology in the rice landscape and the remaining challenge is to spread this technology among farmers in Bangladesh.

Knowledge Management: Report/Proceedings