Crop losses : rice; field losses to insects, diseases, weeds, and other pests

ON A WORLDWIDE BASIS, RICE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT OF THE FOOD CROPS, CONSTITUTING THE STAPLE FOOD OF OVER HALF OF THE PEOPLE IN THE WORLD. PESTS OF RICE-INSECTS, ORGANISMS CAUSING DISEASES, RODENTS, BIRDS, ETC.-COMPETE DIRECTLY WITH HUMANS FOR RICE CROPS AND EXACT A STAGGERING TOLL. WEEDS COMPETE WITH THE RICE PLANT ITSELF FOR FACTORS ESSENTIAL TO PLANT GROWTH AND IN THIS WAY TAKE THEIR TOLL. IF ALL THE LAND PRESENTLY PLANTED TO RICE IN THE DEVELOPING COUNTRIES OF THE WORLD SUFFERED AN AVERAGE OF ONLY ONE PERCENT LOSS IN YIELD AS A CONSEQUENCE OF THE DAMAGE CAUSED BY PESTS, IT WOULD BE TANTAMOUNT TO ACKNOWLEDGING THAT ABOUT 900,000 HECTARES (APPROX. 2.2 MILLION ACRES) HAD BEEN PLANTED FOR NO OTHER PURPOSE THAN TO FEED PESTS. UNFORTUNATELY, THE YIELD LOSSES CAUSED BY THE COMPLEX OF RICE PESTS, ALTHOUGH NOT KNOWN PRECISELY, ARE MUCH GREATER THAN TEN TIMES ONE PERCENT. THE PURPOSE OF THIS REPORT IS TO PRESENT SOME REPRESENTATIVE LOSS DATA FROM SOME OF THE MORE IMPORTANT RICE-GROWING REGIONS AND FOR SOME OF THE MORE SIGNIFICANT PESTS IN THE FIELD IN ORDER TO CALL ATTENTION TO THE EXTENT TO WHICH PESTS ARE AFFECTING RICE YIELDS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES AND THEREBY TO THE GREAT NEED OF THESE COUNTRIES FOR EFFECTIVE CROP PROTECTION SCHEMES.