The Fight Against Paddy Hispa: Best Practices For Management  

Rice hispa, also known as spiny beetle, is a serious pest of rice crops. Rice hispa is a well-known invasive pest which causes significant damage to rice crops resulting in reduced yield and economic losses to farmers. This article will provide an overview of rice hispa including its characteristics, symptoms and control measures. 

They are small bluish black beetles with a number of spines on the elytra. Female makes a minute slit towards the tip of tender lead blade and lay eggs singly, which hatch out into flat yellowish grubs and mine into leaves and produce blotches. They pupate in the leaf mines. The entire life cycle of rice hispa is completed within rice leaves. Rainy and cloudy weather conditions favor the growth and development of rice hispa. 

Type of Infestation

The paddy hispa larva tunnels into the leaf blade and consumes the green tissue between the veins, while adult beetles feed by scraping off the green matter of the tender leaves. This feeding behavior can cause significant damage to the rice plant, particularly during its early stages of growth. 

Scientific Name: Dicladispa armigera  

Most Affected States  

Rice hispa is found in many parts of India. Some of the most affected states include Gujarat, Haryana, Orissa, Punjab, Andhra Pradesh and Assam.  

Symptoms of Rice Hispa

• Adult beetles scrape the green matter of the leaf causing characteristic white parallel streaks.   
• Leaves are left with only epidermis at the lower part as they scrape the green matter from the upper portion of leaf blade.  
• The damaged leaves can wilt and fall off. 
• Severe infestation makes rice fields look scorched. 

Control Measures

A comprehensive strategy, encompassing cultural, physical, biological and chemical methods can be implemented to effectively manage paddy hispa. 

Cultural Measures

• Early planting is recommended to avoid infestation. 
• Avoid applying excessive doses of nitrogenous fertilizers. 
• Clipping the tips of the leaf blades prior to transplanting can remove paddy hispa eggs. 
• Eliminating rice ratoons and volunteer rice during the crop-free season can impact the survival and multiplication of over-wintering populations of paddy hispa. 

Physical Measures

• Hand picking and destroying the beetles is one of the effective ways to reduce the rice hispa population. 

Biological Measures

• Introducing natural predators like Reduviid bug can help reduce the population of paddy hispa. 

Chemical Measures

In cases where cultural, physical and biological control strategies are not sufficient to control Paddy Hispa, adoption of chemical method of control may be necessary. There are several insecticides available for controlling paddy hispa, including: