High risk of major rice pests and diseases recurring at the heading stage

Since late August, rice areas in the south have been affected by excessive rainfall and “late autumn without cool weather,” causing the population density of the “two migratory” rice pests to rise rapidly, rice blast is still spreading, and there is a relatively high risk of major pests and diseases recurring at the heading stage. Localities, in accordance with the arrangements and deployment of the Ministry of Agriculture’s “Action to Prevent Diseases and Control Pests and Secure a Bumper Autumn Grain Harvest,” have strengthened monitoring and early warning, intensified unified prevention and control and emergency control, and achieved phased results in the prevention and control of rice pests and diseases in the south. As of September 9, a cumulative total of 896 million mu-times of control had been carried out against major rice pests and diseases nationwide, 1.1 times the 816 million mu-times of occurrence area. Through effective prevention and control, the actual occurrence of rice planthopper and rice leaf roller was 207 million mu-times and 170 million mu-times respectively, down 11.6% and 5.8% year on year, and the rate of diseased panicles for most rice blast was kept within 1%.

According to monitoring by the National Crop Major Pests and Diseases Forecasting Network, rice planthopper has recently shown obvious adult peaks under lights in rice areas of Jiangnan and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, with single-day single-light catches exceeding 1,000 insects in many places in Hunan, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and elsewhere; residual populations of rice leaf roller are generally high, generally 3,000 to 4,000 insects per mu, up 20% to 30% year on year; rice blast has occurred on a cumulative 42.51 million mu, up 16% year on year.

In response to the severe situation of high risk of pest and disease recurrence in the later stage of rice in the south, the Department of Crop Production of the Ministry of Agriculture, together with the National Agricultural Technology Extension and Service Center, organized agricultural plant protection departments at all levels to adhere to “as long as a bumper harvest is not yet in hand, disease and pest control work will not relax for a single day,” strengthen monitoring and early warning, fully grasp the dynamics of pest and disease occurrence, and scientifically guide prevention and control work; strengthen unified prevention and control and emergency control, and strive to improve the effectiveness, benefits and efficiency of prevention and control; strengthen supervision and guidance to ensure that work measures are implemented in place and technical measures are applied to the fields, going all out to “snatch grain from the mouths of pests” and secure a bumper harvest.