Validation Of Integrated Pest Management Practices Against Rice Pest Complex Through Participatory Trials

Abstract

Integrated pest management is widely recommended for rice, but adoption remains limited when farmers do not see clear field-level economic benefits. Participatory trials were conducted in Haripur and Mansehra districts of the Hazara region to validate a locally adapted rice IPM package against farmer practice. At each location, IPM and farmer practice plots were compared side by side. The IPM package included resistant variety use, line sowing at recommended spacing, soil-test-based fertilizer management, weekly pest scouting, natural enemy conservation and need-based pesticide use. Pest observations focused on stem borer, leafhoppers and aphids. Natural enemies, grain yield and economic returns were also recorded. IPM plots reduced stem borer damage from 22.3% to 8.5% at Haripur and from 20.3% to 7.7% at Mansehra. Leafhopper abundance decreased from 7.4 to 2.8 per plant at Haripur and from 6.9 to 2.5 per plant at Mansehra. Aphid populations were also lower in IPM plots. Natural enemy abundance was higher under IPM, indicating reduced disruption of biological control. Mean grain yield increased from 3150 kg ha-1 under farmer practice to 3885 kg ha-1 under IPM, representing a 23.4% yield increase. The IPM package also produced a higher cost-benefit ratio of 1:3.6 compared with 1:2.4 under farmer practice. The results demonstrate that a participatory, locally validated IPM package can reduce pest pressure, conserve beneficial organisms, improve yield and increase profitability. Wider adoption should focus on farmer training, pest scouting skills and simple economic decision rules.

Keywords: Oryza sativa; rice IPM; participatory trials; stem borer; leafhopper; natural enemies; benefit-cost ratio; Hazara