Impact of climate change on brown plant hopper, Nilaparvata lugens (Stal) incidence and management in rice eco system in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh

Rice is a major cultivated (2.05 lakh ha) crop in Srikakulam district of Andhra Pradesh during kharif season. However, rice productivity in the district was on the lower side due to many abiotic and biotic constraints. Of many biotic factors, brown plant hopper (BPH), Nilaparvata lugens (Stal.) is one of the most important sucking pests of rice, which is causing huge crop losses during certain years. The peak incidence of this pest was observed during August to October months due to continuous dry spell during these months. The recorded highest temperature during this period was 32.0-34.3 0C, whereas, the lowest temperature recorded was 31.9 – 32.5 0C. Present study revealed that, the increase in temperature resulted in higher pest incidence during the active tillering stage (26-28 insects/hill) and PI stage (30-32 insects/hill). Integrated pest management in rice resulted in low pest incidence (7-8 insects/hill) compared to the non IPM fields (15-18 insects/hill). There was as average of 9.57% yield increase was also observed.