Abundance of arthropod insect pests and natural enemies in rice field as influenced by rice growth stages and neighboring crops

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Studies were conducted to record the abundance of arthropod insect pests and natural enemies in rice fields as influenced by rice growth stages and neighboring crops at the experimental farm of Patuakhali Science and Technology University (PSTU), Dumki, Patuakhali during 2012 in Boro rice season following randomized complete block design. Results indicated that rice-tree habitat showed the highest abundance of leafhoppers (100.75) followed by cricket (16.50), grasshoppers (15.25) and stink bugs (15.25). The lowest abundance of all insect pests was in rice-sesame habitat. No significant differences were found on the abundance of rice bug, rice hispa and stem borer populations. At seedling stage, the highest abundance of leafhopper (94.25) was recorded followed by grasshopper (47.00) and stink bug (26.50) while the lowest was stem borer (0.57) and rice hispa (6.00). At early tillering stage, maximum number of grasshopper (17.25) was recorded followed by cricket (7.00). At maximum tillering stage, the highest abundance of leafhoppers (122.5) was obtained followed by rice bug (62.00) and the lowest was the stink bug (7.00). At panical initiation stage, the highest abundance of rice bug (334.00) was recorded which was followed by leafhoppers (65.25) and the lowest was the cricket (15.75). No population of rice hispa and stem borer was recorded at maximum tillering and panical initiation stages. In case of natural enemies, the highest abundance of lady bird beetle (45.27) and damselfly (16.73) was found in rice-rice habitat. The highest abundance of ichneumonid wasp (57.53) was in rice-tree habitat and ground beetle (28.80) was in rice-sesame habitat. No significant differences were observed on the abundance of dragonfly, spider and dipteran fly among different habitats. Among different growth stages of rice plant, significantly the highest abundance of lady bird beetle was recorded at maximum tillering stage. The highest abundance of ichneumonid wasp and ground beetle was recorded at seedling stage. The highest abundance of damselfly, spider and dipteran fly was at early tillering stage. No significant difference was observed on the abundance of dragonfly among different rice growth stages.Bangladesh J. Agril. Res. 42(2): 309-319, June 2017