Module V:

Pest management

Often, rice fields are plagued by pests. This pests can be plant diseases, insects, snail, birds, rodents or weeds. If a pest attacks a rice files it usually results in lower yield and by consequence less income for the farmer.

The most common way for the farmer to control pests is by using chemical pesticides. Pesticide use has spread more quickly in rice in Tropical Asia than has the capability to ensure the effective, profitable, and safe use of the chemicals. Concerns over misuse have compelled many national and international organizations and farmer groups to reevaluate the importance of pesticides in rice and to promote IPM.

In this module, we discuss the main pests that attack rice and explain how you should deal with them.

IPM teaches that not all insect are pests and may even be helpful to the farmer

For more information on pest management, visit: http://www.knowledgebank.irri.org/