Preliminary Survey of Major Insect Pests of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) from Panvel, Navi Mumbai, India

Abstract

A preliminary survey of major insect pests on rice was carried out during the Kharif season of 2020, from June 2020 to October 2020 in selected plots of rice around Panvel, Navi Mumbai, India. 16 species of insect pests representing 03 orders, 06 families and 15 genera were observed. Number of species of insect pests distributed in each family reveals that 09 species belongs to family Acrididae, 03 species to Erebidae and 1 species each to Crambidae, Nymphalidae, Libellulidae and Pyrgomorphidae. Family Acrididae shows the highest percent representation of species (56.25%) followed by Erebidae (18.75%) and Crambidae, Nymphalidae, Libellulidae and Pyrgomorphidae (6.25%). Results of the preset study indicates that larval forms and adults of grasshoppers, dragon flies and bugs are the major insect pests of paddy at various growth stages. It is recommended that preventive measures like frequent dusting and spraying of insecticides and de-weeding of the crop will control the infestation by insect pests and will improve the yield of rice. Since no earlier reports are available, data presented here can be taken as a baseline data on major insect pests of rice in Panvel region, Navi Mumbai, India