Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

World

Rice growers have new resource to battle rice water weevil

The rice water weevil (Lissorhoptrus oryzophilus) is a worrisome insect pest of rice and it can trigger significant yield losses. The adult stage of the insect can inflict damage by consuming leaf tissue, whereas the larval form feeds on the roots of rice plants. The larva are equipped with a pair of connected dorsal hooks that are inserted into plant roots.

The rice water weevil is a native of the south eastern U.S. Over the years it has invaded Japan, Korea, China, and Italy. The adults are dark-brown to black with grey scales.

Researchers based at the University of California, Davis, have determined why the rice water weevil has spread so rapidly (up to 36 kilometers per year). This is linked to its ability to reproduce asexually.

In terms of future strategies, the authors also discuss methods of monitoring and sampling including the use of aquatic barrier traps. To this they add advice relating to minimising the impact through cultural control methods like draining fields, delayed planting, winter flooding, and nutrient augmentation. As an alternative, the authors also explore the use of microbiological pest control measures using the fungus Beauveria bassiana and the soil bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis. Both of these organisms target insects.

More controversially, the researchers suggest the growing of insect-resistant transgenic varieties or rice. One example is the recently developed Bt rice plant transformed with the Cry3A gene. However, there are some consumer concerns with the use of genetically modified grains.

The new study has been reported to the Journal of Integrated Pest Management. The research is titled “A Century of Rice Water Weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae): A History of Research and Management With an Emphasis on the United States.”

Avatar photo
Written By

Dr. Tim Sandle is Digital Journal's Editor-at-Large for science news. Tim specializes in science, technology, environmental, business, and health journalism. He is additionally a practising microbiologist; and an author. He is also interested in history, politics and current affairs.

You may also like:

World

Calling for urgent action is the international medical humanitarian organization Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)

Business

The cathedral is on track to reopen on December 8 - Copyright AFP Ludovic MARINParis’s Notre-Dame Cathedral, ravaged by fire in 2019, is on...

Business

Saudi Aramco President & CEO Amin Nasser speaks during the CERAWeek oil summit in Houston, Texas - Copyright AFP Mark FelixPointing to the still...

World

Until the Second Coming of Jeffrey Epstein, you’ll just have to put up with economic realism.