Brown Plant Hopper

 Brown Plant Hopper

1.Name of Pest:   Brown Plant Hopper (Nilaparvata lugens)

2. Host plants:        Rice and wild grasses.

3.When its occur: 

➥ After transplanting, More severe during panicle initiation stage.

➥ BPH appeared in rice crop during the last week of August (i.e. 40 days after transplanting).

➥ The peak population of BPH was observed during the second week of October (i.e. standard week was-42).

➥ September, October and November month Plant hoppers can be a problem in rainfed and irrigated wetland environments.

➥ It also occurs in areas with continuous submerged conditions in the field, high shade, and humidity. High nitrogen levels and close plant spacing

➥ The population of BPH decreased as the crop reached the harvesting stage around the first week of November.

4. How to identify insect pest: 

➧ Eggs are laid in the midrib of the leaf blades, 4-10 inc. an egg mass; they are cylindrical, slightly curved, 1 mm long, white at first, darker when about to hatch, with two spots - the eyes of the nymph. The eggs hatch in 4-8 days. 

➧ Nymphs are creamy white with a pale brown tinge, later becoming dark brown. There are four to five moults. The final nymphs are nearly 3 mm long, with a line from the top of the head to the middle of the body where it is widest.

➧ Adults are brownish black with a yellowish-brown body.

5. What does it do :

• The nymphs and adults stay at the base of the rice plant and suck the plant sap and as a result of feeding plants turn yellow and dry up rapidly.

• At early infestation, round yellow patches appear which soon turn brownish due to the drying up of the plants. This condition is called hopper burn.

• The grain setting is also affected to a great extent. During sustained feeding, it excretes a large amount of honeydew.

6. Damage Symptoms:

• Leaves turn yellow and later brownish.

• Circular patches of drying and lodging of mature plant.

• Affected plant dries up and gives a scorched appearance called “hopper burn”.

• Ovipositional marks exposing the plant to fungal and bacterial infections

• presence of honeydew and sooty molds in the bases of areas infected

• It is vector of grassy stunt, ragged stunt and wilted stunt diseases.

                                                                  

       🔺  N.B: Sometimes plant hopper feeding damage confused with rice black bug.The gray insect has a white spot along the middle of the back side. It's not a vector of any virus disease. Naturally no hopper burn are seen. To confirm feeding damage caused by plant hoppers, check for the presence of sooty mold at the base of the plant.

7. Management Practice:

       A. Cultural Methods:

• Avoid use of excess nitrogen.

• Monitoring of BPH at base of the plant 30 days after transplanting at weekly interval.

• Resistant varieties IET-7575 and IET-8116 ,IR26, IR64, IR36, IR56, and IR72,Soshi, Lalat, Prakash etc. 

• Alternate wetting and drying the field during peak infestation.

• Apply recommended dose of nitrogen fertilizer.

• Avoid close planting and provide 30 cm rogue spacing at every 2.5 to 3.0 m to reduce the pest incidence.

• Draining the rice field for 3-4 days is recommended during the early stage of infestation.

       B. Biological Methods:

• Release of natural enemies like Lycosa pseudoannulata (200 – 250 bugs/ha) during the peak incidence of brown plant hopper at 10 days interval.

• Natural enemies of BPH include water striders, mirid bugs, spiders, and various egg parasitoids eat adults and nymphs that fall onto the water surface.

       C. Mechanical and Physical Methods:(Trap Methods):

• Flood the seedbed, for a day, so that only the tips of seedlings are exposed will control BPH.

• Use light traps during night. (e.g., an electric bulb or kerosene lamp near a light colored wall or over a pan of water) at night when rice is prone to plant hopper attacks. Do not place lights near seedbeds or fields. If the light trap is inundated with hundreds of BPH, it's a signal to check your seedbed or field immediately; then scout every day for the next few weeks. If farmers monitor on a daily basis anyway, then a light trap is unnecessary.
  
  
  

• Use yellow pan traps during day time.

• Installation of light traps with incandescent light at 1-2 m height @ 4/ acre to monitor the population.

       D. Chemical Methods: Recommended For Spray Following insecticide :

• Spray Clothianidin 50 % W.D.G @ 1 Gm / 10 Liter Of Water. Or

• Spray Acephate 75% SP @ 1.5 gm/ 2 Lit Of Water. (Asataf,starthane,lancer, lucid)or 

• Spray Acephate 95 % SC @ 0.75 Gm / 2 Lit Of Water. (Hunk) Or

• Spray Buprofezin 25% SC @ 1 Ml / Lit Of Water. Or

• Spray Dinotefuron 35% SL @ 1 Ml / 2 Lit Of Water. Or

• Spray Dinotefuron 20% SG @ 1 Gm / 2 Lit Of Water. (Token,osheen). Or

• Spray Flonicamid 50% WG @ 1 Gm / 5 Lit Of Water. (Ulalla) Or

• Spray Acephate 5 % + Imidacloprid 1.1 % EC @ 2.5 Ml / 2 Lit Of Water. (Lancer Gold). Or

• Spray Bufrofezin 5.65% + Deltamethrin 72 % EC @ 2 Ml / 2 Lit Of Water. Or

• Spray Buprofezin 15% + Acephate 35 % WP @ 2.5 Gm / Lit Of Water. (Tapuz-adama). Or

• Spray Ethiprole 40 % + Imidacloprid 40% (80% WG) @ 1 Gm / 3 Lit Of Water. (Glamour). Or

• Spray Imidacloprid 40% + Fipronil 40% 80 WG @ 1 Gm / 2 Lit Of Water. (Lesenta). Or

• Spray Phosphamidon 40% + Imidacloprid 2 % SP @ 1 Gm / 2 Lit Of Water.