Battle continues to stop brown leaf-hopper
As an
example of the kind of environmental disaster that can unfold onto rice,
Thailand’s rice crop is being hit hard by two rice pests fueled by the
devastating floods that hit the country through the end of last year.
The
pest, known as brown planthopper (BPH), transmits two viruses that hit yields
as well as eating away at rice plants. The brown plant-hopper, also known as
the brown leaf-hopper, is one of the pests that Chinese and International Rice
Research Institute scientists are seeking to thwart (see accompanying story, Green Super Rice Ready for a New Phase).
"The
floods have certainly made things worse," Kong Luen Heong, principal
scientist for the Manila-based International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
told IRIN. "Moreover, they will impact [on] upcoming harvests as
well."
"BPH
is attacking the rice bowl of the country for the eighth time in a row [over
the past four years]," said Kukiat Soitong, from the Thai government's
Rice Department, based in the Agriculture Ministry, adding that "150,000
hectares have already been seriously damaged in the central plains, in the
basin of Chao Phraya river".
Affected
provinces lost 30 percent of their rice production due to BPH in early 2010,
amounting to around 1.3 million tons for the country, or more than 15 percent
of the nationwide harvest, which takes place twice a year, reported the Rice
Department.
According
to the Thai Rice Exporters' Association, Thailand produces 4-5 percent of the
world's rice, and is the largest exporter, with 10.8 million tons in 2011.
Last
year's flooding, which affected more than 2 million people across 28 provinces
and damaged more than two million hectares of farmland, worsened the
longstanding pest problem by drowning natural enemies of BPH, including insect
parasites and spiders.
"Because
of the floods and the killing of BPH's natural enemies, farmers are more
dependent on insecticides for several seasons. And the fact is that using
insecticides makes BPH even stronger," added Kukiat.
Most
insecticides kill BPH's natural enemies rather than BPH itself. The brown
planthopper has an "unmatched" capacity to become resistant to any
molecule used against it, according to Keng Hong Tan, a retired entomology
professor based in Malaysia, who says the pest has even developed resistance to
one of its own hormones when applied as a control measure.
And
while IRRI and Thailand's Rice Department launched a campaign in July 2011 to
ban the two insecticides most often used in rice cultivation, cypermethrin and
abamectin - known to cause BPH's resurgence - the ban is unlikely to have a
significant impact.
"This
campaign will have limited immediate effects because of the floods," said
Heong. "It will take some strong will to break the vicious circle that
helps BPH."
Yet
banning insecticides is the only way to control BPH outbreaks in the long term,
said Ho Van Chien, director of the Vietnamese government's plant protection
centre for southern Vietnam.
According
to IRRI, BPH damaged hundreds of thousands of hectares across Asia, leading to
hundreds of millions of dollars in lost production.
Since
2009, Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar,
the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam have been severely affected at least
once.
"BPH
puts the whole rice ecosystem in jeopardy," said Erma Budiyanto, director
of plant protection in Indonesia's Ministry of Agriculture.
"There
could be a humanitarian situation because of this pest in the future if
insecticides remain as widely used as today," said Heong.
(IRIN
is a service of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations.)
IRIN
Asia
Sentinel
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