Rice Gundhi Bug:  Leptocorisa acuta Thunberg (Hemiptera : Coreidae)

Local name: Gandhi Tigane

Damage symptoms

• The nymphs and adults suck the milk from the developing grains and stem in the early stage of grain formation.
• Discolouration of panicles as well as the presence of some empty or ill filled grains in the panicles.
• Infested paddy straw contains foul smell. 

Damaged grains are smaller (IRRI)

Damaged grains caused by rice bug (IRRI)

Management

 Preventive measures 

• Remove weeds from fields and surrounding areas

Biological control

• Small wasps parasitize the eggs and the meadow grasshoppers prey on them.
• Both the adults and nymphs are preys to spiders, coccinellid beetles and dragonflies
• A fungus infects both nymphs and adults.

 Chemical control

• Look for rice bugs at pre flowering stage and continue daily until the hard dough stage during early morning or late afternoon hours.
• ETL :  1 nymph /adult per hill (DRR)

                  10 rice bugs /20 hills (IRRI)

• malathion dust 5% @ 8kg/acre or  malathion 50EC @ 2ml/l (350ml/acre) and take up spraying on panicle.
• 270 liter of spraying chemical is required per acre.