Brown plant hopper: Nilaparvata lugens

Symptoms of damage:

• Nymphs and adults congregate at the base of the plant above the water level.
• Affected plant dries up and gives a scorched appearance called “ hopper burn ”.
• Circular patches of drying and lodging of matured plant.
• It transmits grassy stunt , ragged stunt and wilted stunt diseases.
• Honey dew is secreted by nymphs and adults which causes sooty mould at the base.

Identification of insect pest:

• Egg: Eggs are laid in a group of 2 to 12 in leaf sheath (near the plant base or in the ventral midribs of leaf blades). White, transparent, slender cylindrical and curved eggs are thrust in straight-line in two rows. (They are covered with a dome-shaped egg plug secreted by the female. Only the tips protrude from the plant surface).
• Nymph: Freshly hatched nymph is cottony white, 0.6 mm long and it turns purple-brown, 3.0 mm long in the fifth instar.
• Adult: Adult hopper is 4.5-5.0 mm long and has a yellowish brown to dark brown body. The adults exist in two forms, macropterous and brachypterous. Macropterous adults or long-winged have normal fore and hind wings, whereas brachypterous forms or the short-winged have reduced hind wings. A prominent tibial spur is present on the hind leg.

Management: ETL: 1 hopper/ tiller in the absence of predatory spider and 2 hoppers /tiller when spider is present at 1/hill.

• Avoid close planting and provide 30 cm rogue spacing at every 2.5 to 3.0 m.
• Control irrigation by alternate wetting and drying.
• Avoid excessive use of nitrogen
• Set up light traps during night or yellow pan traps during day time
• Drain the water before use of insecticides and direct the spray towards the base of the plants.
• Apply Neem oil 3% 6 lit/ac or Azadirachtin 0.03% 400 ml/ac
• Apply any one of the following insecticides

• Acetamiprid 20% SP 20-40 g/ac
• Acephate 75 % SP 400 g/ac
• Buprofezin 25% SC 320 ml/ac
• Carbosulfan 25 EC 400 ml/ac
• Chlorantraniliprole 18.5% SC 60 g/ac
• Chlorantraniliprole 0.4% G 4 kg/ac
• Clothianidin 50% WG 8-9.6 g/ac
• Chlorpyriphos 20 EC 500 ml/ac

• Dinotefuran 20% SG 60-80 g/ac
• Fipronil 5% SC 400 ml/ac
• Fipronil 0.3% GR 6.7 - 10 kg/ac
• Flonicamid 50% WG 60 g/ac
• Imidacloprid 17.8 SL 40-50 ml/ac
• Pymetrozine 50% WG 120g/ac