Brown planthoppers after 10 sprays
In a report to IRRI, Ho Van Chien, director of the Southern Regional Plant Protection Center, Vietnam, stated that numerous rice fields were destroyed by planthoppers in Tan Tru district in Long An province.
Some farmers interviewed by Mr. Chien have been using 10 insecticide applications, one seed treatment, one granular application and 8 sprays. Broad spectrum pyrethroid, organo phosphates, among others, have been used in mixtures. Crops were near harvesting and yet have numerous freshly hatched nymphs which imply that the adult populations were very high after 10 sprays. It seems like the more sprays farmers use the more generations occur. Mr. Chien thinks that if farmers had not sprayed in the early crop stages, they will not have experienced such heavy attacks. Crops were sprayed when seedlings were 7-15 days old.
Hopperburn after 10 sprays
Once or twice a week in his TV program, Farmer Bridge, Mr. Chien urges farmers to avoid early season spraying but he says that his messages seem to have been completely overpowered by the more frequent pesticide advertising. Pesticide adverting messages are as frequent as one every hour in Vietnam. In addition, the pesticide company agents are organizing farmer groups, farmer field school (FFS) style teaching farmers about pesticides and giving out free samples. With the rice price so high, most farmers are anxious about their crops and companies are extending their promotion activities. Mr. Chien fears that at the present rate of excessive pesticide spraying, the Mekong Delta will once again experience huge planthopper outbreaks before or during the TET (Vietnamese New Year) holidays in late January.
We and the other farmers in our place are also expriencing problems about heavy rice losses due to the disease transmitted by green leafhoppers. We hope that this information resource can help us find solutions to our pest problems. Thank you for putting this up.
Ulysses, thanks for visiting. This blog aims to be a platform for sharing knowledge on how to manage rice planthopper problems. From farmers like you, we need feedback from the field so that the resource person in this ADB project can help find solutions. Could you share a story about your or your neighbor farmers’ experience in managing green leafhoppers in your community? We shall post it in the “Report from the field” page.