Judicial Use of Insecticides Deter Planthopper Outbreaks and Extend the Life of Resistant Varieties in Southeast Asian Rice

Abstract

Prior to 1970, the rice brown planthopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stål, was not regarded as a pest of tropical rice and received only a brief mention in an illustrated field guide to rice pests in the Philippines (Ceiba-Geigy 1968). Since the 1970s, however, this monophagous planthopper has achieved major pest status, causing massive losses in rice production throughout Asia (Dyck and Thomas 1979). Countries presently under threat include China, Thailand, and Vietnam with losses for 1990/91 alone estimated at $30 million (U.S.) in Thailand, and Vietnam. As both countries are rice exporters, these represent losses in foreign currency.