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Q&A ViewAttendees 2

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Student Competition 10-Minute Paper

Grad P-IE: IPM - Field Crops 2

Monitoring methods for rice billbug (Sphenophorus pertinax) in furrow irrigated rice.

Monday, November 1, 2021
9:12 AM - 9:24 AM MT
Location: Colorado Convention Center, Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
In-Person Student Competition

Furrow-irrigated rice (FIR) production acreage is increasing in Arkansas due to potential cost savings on tillage and levee construction when compared to flood-irrigated rice. In FIR systems, there is a lack of standing water across all or a portion of the field, which increases the susceptibility to rice billbug (Sphenophorus pertinax). Rice billbugs feed on the roots and tillers of rice plants, causing rice seed heads to abort and indirect yield loss to occur. As FIR production systems increase across Arkansas, so has the demand for rice billbug management strategies. Studies were conducted in 2019, 2020, and 2021 at a total of ten furrow-irrigated rice fields in Arkansas. Multiple insect trap styles were evaluated to monitor rice billbug migration to the field. An additional study was conducted to determine if rice billbug has a trap color preference. Data suggest that traps designed for ground active insects are better for monitoring rice billbug activity. These data suggest that rice billbugs are likely crawling to infest rice fields rather than flying.  In the color preference test, pink colored traps resulted in the greatest amount of collected specimens. These results will aid FIR producers in improving monitoring techniques for rice billbug.