Manage planthoppers in rice and basmati: PAU tells farmers 

Ludhiana, October 1, 2024: The Punjab Agricultural University (PAU) has advised the farmers of Punjab to manage planthoppers in rice and basmati by following PAU recommendations. As per the surveillance conducted by the scientists, the incidence of rice planthoppers has been observed in some farmers’ fields, disclosed Dr MS Bhullar, Director of Extension Education. “Whitebacked and brown planthoppers feed at the base of plants and often go unnoticed at the initial stage. Both nymphs and adults of these pests suck the cell sap from leaf and leaf sheath of rice plants. The crop dries up in patches. The severely attacked rice plants ultimately dry up on which a sooty mould appears. These dried-up patches of the crop are called ‘hopper burn’. As the plants dry up, the hoppers migrate to the adjoining plants and the areas of dry patches keep expanding,” said Dr Bhullar.

Cautioning the farmers against the incidence of planthoppers, Dr KS Suri, Principal Entomologist, stressed upon going in for regular monitoring of rice fields for these planthoppers. Rice crop near maturity should not be sprayed with any insecticide, he urged, while underscoring the monitoring of long duration rice and basmati varieties for planthopper infestation. “For monitoring, a few plants in the field should be slightly tilted and tapped 2-3 times at the base. If a minimum of five hoppers per hill are seen floating on water, the crop should be sprayed with any of these insecticides viz. Pexalon 10 SC (triflumezopyrim) @ 94 ml/acre or Ulala 50 WG (flonicamid) @ 60 g or Osheen/Token/Dominant 20 SG (dinotefuran) @ 80 g or Chess 50WG (pymetrozine) @ 120 g or Imagine 10 SC (flupyrimin) @ 300 ml or Orchestra 10 SC (benzpyrimoxan) @ 400 ml ml/acre,” he advised. For better results, direct the spray towards the base of rice plants, he added. Synthetic pyrethroids (cypermethrin, lambdacyhalothrin, deltamethrin, etc.) should not be used on rice and basmati crop, he warned, while emphasizing on avoiding the use of insecticides’ mixtures on rice and basmati crop.