Brown Planthopper
Nilaparvata lugens
high risk
insect
Overview
The single most economically damaging insect pest of rice in Asia, responsible for billions of dollars in annual losses. It feeds directly on rice phloem sap and vectors two devastating viral diseases: Grassy Stunt and Ragged Stunt viruses.
Adults 3–4 mm, brown to dark brown with well-developed wings (macropterous) or short wings (brachypterous). Short-winged form is more common in settled populations. Nymphs pale yellowish-brown.
Prevention Strategies
- •Use resistant rice varieties (IR64, IR72) with BPH resistance genes
- •Avoid over-application of nitrogen fertiliser which promotes population build-up
- •Maintain field drainage to reduce humidity at the base of tillers
- •Conserve natural enemies: spiders, mirid bugs, carabid beetles
- •Synchronise planting within communities to break the pest cycle
Control Methods
- •Buprofezin (insect growth regulator) — highly specific with low impact on natural enemies
- •Imidacloprid seed treatment at planting
- •Etofenprox for foliar spray
- •Avoid pyrethroids which cause population resurgence by killing natural enemies
- •Drain fields temporarily to disrupt feeding at tiller base
Interesting Facts
- •A single female can lay 300–600 eggs in her lifetime
- •Pesticide-induced resurgence was first documented with BPH — killing its natural enemies caused populations to explode to worse levels than untreated controls
- •Migratory populations cross the East China Sea from China to Japan seasonally
- •More than 30 resistance genes to BPH have been identified in wild rice relatives