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- Colaspis strike Concordia Parish rice
Originally published April 17, 2012
Over the weekend Sebe Brown scouted a field in Concordia parish where the stand was being severely reduced by colaspis larvae feeding on seedlings. Problems with this field started on March 16 when the stand began to decline. The plants were described as yellow and stunted. This was a Dermacor X-100 treated hybrid rice field no-till drill-planted at a 23 lbs/acre seeding rate. Surrounding fields were growing nicely. When Sebe scouted the field on Saturday he confirmed that the injury was being caused by Colaspis larvae feeding on the roots of seedlings. The stand was reduced about 40% by this injury. The recommendation was made to establish a shallow permanent flood to avoid further injury. In a situation like this, where the rice isn’t quite ready for a flood, you may lose some injured plants to the flood. The alternative is to wait to establish flood, during which time the colaspis will continue to injure the seedlings and further reduce the stand. Establishment of a flood on the field will prevent further feeding injury by the colaspis larvae and eventually the larvae will die. Note: according to experts in Arkansas it may take up to a month for colaspis larvae to die in the permanent flood. Click here to read more about colaspis. You can watch a video on how to scout for colaspis here. The Dermacor X-100 should provide about 30% suppression of the colaspis infestation. Next season, they will consider using a CruiserMaxx or NipsitInside seed treatment to target control of colaspis. The use of pyrethroids will not provide control of colaspis because they are injuring the crop below the soil line.
Colaspis Larva. Photo by Natalie Hummel
The LSU AgCenter and the LSU College of Agriculture