Rice Pests of Bangladesh: Their Ecology and Management

Rice is the staple food crop of Bangladesh. During the last four decades rice production has been transformed from a low input, traditional system to an intensive, high-yielding system relying on high inputs, which has strongly influenced the incidence and abundance of rice pests. At the same time and during the same period, great strides were made in our understanding of the ecology of pests and therefore their management. We moved from a dependence on pesticides to an ecological approach based on the principles of integrated pest management (IPM). However, this radical change in strategy, so vital for pest management research, education and extension, has never before been compiled in a single volume for Bangladesh. In a nutshell the book: • emphasizes IPM in place of a purely chemical approach; • incorporates research efforts of the last 30-40 years; • represents a single source for all rice pests: insects, vertebrates, and diseases weeds; • applies specifically to Bangladesh and neighboring eastern India; • analyses yield losses caused by major insect pests; • critically analyzes ways and means of implementing IPM. The book is clearly laid out and profusely illustrated. It is an essential read for students, teachers, researchers, and all extension and agricultural development workers.