Prospects for ecological engineering for planthoppers and other arthropod pests in rice

Though traditional pest management methods such as companion planting, trap cropping, and other forms of polyculture have a long history, it is only in recent years that researchers have attempted to underpin such practices with ecologically driven research. “Ecological engineering” for pest management has emerged from conservation biological control and habitat manipulation and is characterized by being based more comprehensively on ecological theory and by being developed via rigorous experimentation. The process of development typically aims to identify and provide the most functional components of biodiversity, rather that simply increasing diversity in an untargeted fashion. This directed approach to understanding and using agricultural biodiversity is important because there are a number of pitfalls in the simplistic assumption that enhanced biodiversity will suppress pests in a risk-free fashion. Results from a range of studies are presented to show the benefits of the adoption of ecological engineering practices that suppress pests directly or indirectly (i.e., via enhanced natural enemy activity). Strategies are suggested that allow ecological engineering approaches to be integrated with mainstream agriculture. As an example, this chapter considers prospects for the management of tropical rice pests, especially brown planthopper (Nilaparvata lugens). Pest management in this system currently relies heavily on host-plant resistance and synthetic insecticide applications. There is potential for the management of rice pests, including brown planthopper, to be enhanced through the use of ecological engineering to reduce dependence on pesticides and slow the breakdown of host-plant resistance traits.