Towards Integrated Pest Management of Rice in Korea

In reality, it is a green revolution of the entire agricultural matrix in Korea that integrated pest control plays an important role in the possible breakthrough in rice self-sufficiency. In paddy agroecosystem as man-modified environment, rice is newly established every year by transplantation under diverse water regimes which affect a microclimate. Standing water benefits rice by regulating the microclimate, but it favors the multiplication of certain pets through the amelioration of the microclimate. Further, the introduction of high yielding varieties with the changing of cultural practices results in changing occurrence pattern of certain pests. In general, japonica type varieties lack genes resistant to most of the important pests and insect-borne virus diseases, whereas indica type possesses more genes conferring varietal resistance. Thus, this differences among indica type, form the background of different approaches to pest management. The changes in rice cultivation such as double cropping, growing high-yielding varieties requiring heavy fertilization, earlier transplanting, intensvie-spacing transplanting, and intensive pesticide use as a consequence of the adoption of improves rice production technology, have intensified the pest problems rather than reduced them. The cultivation of resistant varieties are highly effective to the pest, their long term stability is threathened because of the development of new biotypes which can detroy these varieties. So far, three biotypes of N. lugens are reported in Korea. Since each resistant variety is expected to maintain several years the sequential release of another new variety with a different gene at intervals is practised as a gene rotation program. Another approach, breeding multilines that have more than two genes for resistance in a variety are successfully demonstrated. The average annual rice losses during the last 15 years of 1977-’91 are 9.3% due to insect pests without chemical control undertaken, wehreas there is a average 2.4% despite farmers’insecticide application at the same period. In other words, the average annual losses are prvented by 6.9% when chemical control is properly employed. However, the continuous use of a same group of insecticides is followed by the development of pest resistance. Resistant development of C. suppressalis, L. striatellus and N. cincticeps is observed to organophosphorous insecticides by the mid-1960s, and to carbamates by the early 1970s in various parts of the country. Thus, it is apparent that a scheduled chemical control for rice production systems becomes uneconomical and that a reduction in energy input without impairing the rice yield, is necessarily improved through the implementation of integrated pest management systems. Nationwide pest forecasting system conducted by the government organization is a unique network of investigation for purpose of making pest control timely in terms of economic thresholds. A wise plant protection is expected to establish pest management systems in appropriate integration of resistant varieties, biological agents, cultural practices and other measures in harmony with minimizing use of chemical applications as a last weapon relying on economic thresholds.