A comparative study on assessing rodent damage intensity in rice crop based on two different methods

Abstract

Rodent damage is commonly concentrated towards the center of rice fields. There are some approaches to assess the damage, two of them are the transect and the Malayan method. The transect technique is a well-known applicable practice employed among agricultural workers in Indonesia, while the Malayan method is generally performed in Malaysia. The objective of this study was to compare both methods in terms of determining the more representative technique for assessing rodent damage. The study was conducted in Karanggetas village, Bangodua subdistrict, Indramayu district, West Java (6°51’S, 108°29’E) in 2018. Two plots (0.35 ha and 0.56 ha) were selected as the study site which was planted with Inpari 32. Since the generative stage of the rice crop is the most preferable phase for rodents, therefore we solely observed the damage within this period. We recorded the damage intensity four times with weekly intervals by both methods in each plot. To confirm the rodent population and reproduction status, we installed a linear trap barrier system and dug some active burrows along the irrigation channel bank as their main habitat. The result showed that the damage intensity was significantly different between both methods. The damage intensity was higher when it was assessed by the transect method compared to the Malayan one. The result indicated that the transect method is a better technique representing the damage than the Malayan method. This due to the first method covered almost entirely the damaged spot. This finding suggested that the transect method is the representative technique for assessing rodent damage intensity.