Trap-Based Monitoring of Rice Hoppers: A Tool for Precision Rice Pest Management

Abstract

Rice production faces significant losses due to the attack of insect pests such as rice stem borers, planthoppers and leaf folders. To maintain the sustainability of rice production, monitoring and controlling the rice hopper population must be done effectively. Spraying chemical pesticides of various types and concentrations is often done; however, the problem of rice hopper attacks remains uncontrolled. Before control measures are taken, monitoring of the rice hopper population needs to be carried out first. Common methods used by several research agencies to collect data are through manual pest population sampling. However, this method is laborious and provides insufficient data. Therefore, a study was conducted on this rice hopper population by using the bucket light traps and also the manual population sampling method (sweep net and yellow sticky trap). The present study was conducted at the 6-acres rice plot in Seberang Perai, Penang, and the results of the study revealed a good correlation between the use of light traps and manual sampling. Both families of rice hoppers (family Cicadellidae and Delphacidae) were found at all three stages of the rice plant (vegetative, reproductive and ripening). Family Delphacidae (planthoppers) was recorded more during the rice vegetative stage, while the cicadellids (leafhoppers) were recorded in greatest numbers during the rice ripening stage. Leafhoppers from the family Cicadellidae were once a predominant pest but have become the dominant species in this study, having been caught in large numbers using sticky traps (66.5%), followed by light traps (29.5%) and sweep nets (3.96%). Of the three sampling methods, the sticky trap was the most efficient, collecting a greater number of hoppers overall, at all three rice stages. Sticky traps are suitable for collecting rice hopper insects as both rice hoppers (planthoppers and leafhoppers) are winged insects that actively fly between rice plants, making them easy to trap mid-air. Sticky traps play a crucial role in rice pest management because they help to assess the effectiveness of control strategies by monitoring the hoppers' population dynamics.