The diversity of insects in West Sumatera’s local rice by planting refugia as an effort to conserve natural enemies

Abstract

Refugia cultivation refers to a place provided for insects in flower plants, especially for habituating the natural enemies of pests. The purpose of this research is to study the effect of refugia plants on insect diversity during rice cultivation, using a survey method. This experiment was conducted in the Solok area of West Sumatra, in July-September 2019, followed by insect identification at the Insect Bioecology Laboratory of the Department of Pests and Plant Diseases, Faculty of Agriculture, Andalas University. Furthermore, the observations were made in the paddy fields within the early generative phase, and when the panicle has emerged on each sample plot, using insect nets. These samples were taken from places with only refugia plants, as well as rice fields with and without refugia. The results showed a variation in the number of orders, families, and individuals in all samples, which were 3, 6 and 9, respectively for refugia plants, 6, 9 and 133, respectively on the edges of paddy fields with refugia plants, then 4, 7 and 213, were recorded in the areas without refugia. Besides, the highest insect diversity index value was identified in the rice plants with refugia at the edges of the fields [1.87]. At the same time, 1.39 was reported in its absence and 1.58 in areas with the refugia plant itself. Conversely, the dominance index values recorded were 0.20 and 0.58 for rice with, and without refugia, and 0 was reported in the area with refugia alone. Therefore, it is possibly concluded that refugia plants possess the capacity to influence insect diversity and dominance. This necessitates the conduction of further observations in the aspect of functions, as well as the ability to control rice pests.