Cultural practices mitigate irrigated rice insect pest losses in the Philippines
2011
Litsinger, J.A. | Canapi, B.L. | Bandong, J.P.
On-farm research trials evaluated three agronomic practices where farmers were at variance with national recommendations to determine of crop compensation to insect pest loss could be a reason for the differences. Due to the popularity of early maturing varieties, the authors also tesed the effect of plant maturity on the physiological process of compensation. Farmers fine-tuned those practices by trial and error and sought higher yields. The probable reason for the differences between national recommendations and farmers' practices is that agronomists undertake trials under insect free conditions in a reductionist approach when performing trials. In regard to plant density, the farmers' practice of transplanting 6 seedlings/hill has merit in increasing the crop's tolerance to insect pest pressure over the recommended 3 seedlings/hill. Farmers were also correct to note that using N rates above 100 kg/ha gives high yield, the fact that they do not perform trials to compare varying rates does not allow them to know the optimal levels. Trials showed that researchers were correct in recommending younger transplanted seedlings (20-d-old), but farmers failed to do so in part because such young seedlings cannot be easily pulled without being ripped apart due to the hard soil. Finally, a compromise between longer and shorter maturing varieties is called for the former have less ability to compensate from pest damage whereas the latter, despite possessing the greatest compensatory capacity, to their discredit enhance pest buildup, thus medium maturing rices are preferred.
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