Rice Stripe on Leaf

Insects often transmit diseases when they fed on a crop plant. Rice is fed on by planthoppers which transmit viruses. In one outbreak in China, 30 million planthoppers were estimated to infest each of 50 million acres. Major losses were prevented thanks to insecticide sprays.

“Laodelphax striatellus Fallén (Hemoptera: Delphacidae) is an economically important sap-sucking pest in rice. The leaves infested by L. striatellus turn yellow, wilt, and even die, resulting in yield loss and quality reduction. In addition, L. striatellus transmits rice viral diseases such as Rice black-streaked dwarf virus and Rice stripe virus, which are two of the most serious diseases and often cause major yield losses. In recent years, the damage caused by L. striatellus feeding injury and the diseases transmitted by this planthopper has been increasing in China. When the outbreak occurred in Jiangsu and Anhui provinces in 2004 and 2005, the density of L. striatellus reached 30 million per acre, and 50 million acres of rice was infested, causing 30% of yield reduction in areas without pesticide treatment.”

Authors: C-X Duan1, J-M Wan1, H-Q Zhai2, Q Chen1, J-K Wang1, N Su1 and C-L Lei1
Affiliation:
1Institute of Crop Sciences, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China; 2Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing, China
Title: Quantitative trait loci mapping of resistance to Laodelphax striatellus (Hemoptera: Delphacidae) in rice using recombinant inbred lines.
Publication: Journal of Economic Entomology. 2007. 100(4):1450-1455.