As a result of the green revolution, the use of yield-increasing inputs such as fer tilizer and pesticides became a matter of course in irrigated rice farming in Southeast Asia. Pesticides were applied liberally, both as a guarantee against crop failure and as a means of fully utilizing the existing yield potential of the crops. However, since outbreaks of pests, such as the brown planthopper (BPH) or the tungro virus, continued to occur despite the application of chemicals, a change of approach began to take place. It is now being realized more and more in Southeast Asia that crop protection problems cannot be resolved solely by the application of chemicals. In the past several years, increasing efforts have there fore been made to introduce, as a first step, supervised crop protection, leading gradually to integrated pest management (Kranz, 1982). Although the crop protection problems naturally differ in the different devel oping countries in Southeast Asia, the economic situation prevailing in these countries can nevertheless be regarded as an important common determinant: pesticide imports use up scarce foreign currency and thus compete with other imports essential to development. For the individual rice farmer, the problem is basically the same: his cash funds are limited and he must carefully weigh whether to use them for purchas ing pesticides, fertilizer or certified seed. In view of this constraint, it is becom ing necessary to abandon the purely prophylactic, routine calendar spraying and instead, employ critically timed and need-based pesticide applications.

Introduction and overview of conclusions; Pest-related yield losses in rice: reality and perceptions; Crop protection technologies; A profile of pesticide use for rice; Choice of crop protection technologies under risk: an expected utility maximization framework; Pesticide exposure, farmers' health, and choice of pest control technologies; IPM implementation in the Philippines: a policy overview; Regulating pesticide use in Philippine agricultural production: some policy considerations.

ntegrated pest management (IPM) provides a long-term strategy for minimizing losses caused by pests, with as little cost to the grower and disruption of the environment as possible. Written by a collaboration of experts in the field, this detailed manual is designed to help growers apply IPM principles in managing their rice crops. What's Inside? Special sections on crop growth and development and general management practices offer vital background information on using IPM strategies. The chapter on “Managing Pests in Rice” provides a detailed chart of management considerations that will help you plan your IPM program and predict or prevent potential problems before they occur. Vibrant and colorful photographs and descriptions fill the pest sections (weeds, invertebrates, diseases, and vertebrates) to help identify pests and pest damage. An informative glossary is available for looking up definitions of unfamiliar terms. What's new in the 3rd Edition? New exotic pest discussionNew detecting, confirming, and managing herbicide resistance sections21 new photos added for diseases, weeds, and vertebratesColor illustrationsNew life cycle illustrations for each disease3 new diseases and 4 new weeds, including Bakanae, Rice Blast, and Red Rice

The paper reviews the literature on the characteristics and impact of opinion leaders on the diffusion of new knowledge, concluding that there is no clear evidence on whether opinion leaders are more effective if they are similar in socioeconomic attributes to the other farmers rather than superior to would be followers. A multivariate analysis of the changes in integrated pest management knowledge in Indonesia among follower farmers over the period 1991-98 indicates that opinion leaders who are superior to followers, but not excessively so, are more effective in transmitting knowledge. Excessive socioeconomic distance is shown to reduce the effectiveness of diffusion. The paper then derives operational implications of the empirical results.

The book begins by establishing an economic framework upon which to apply the principles of IPM. Then, it looks at the entomological applications of economics, specifically, economic analyses concerning chemical, biological, cultural, and genetic control tactics as well as host plant resistance and the cost of sampling. Lastly it evaluates whether the control provided by a traditional IPM system is sufficient, or if changes to the system design would yield greater benefits.

Rice plant structure and growth stages. Insect pests of rice. Soil pests. Pests at the vegetative stage. Pests at the reproductive. Rice diseases. Weed pestes of rice. Identification and ecology of common weeds in rice. Methods of wees control. Biology and management of riceland rats in Southeast Asia. Management in Southeast Asia. Cultural control. Resistant rice varieties. Diseases races and insect biotypes. Biological control of rice insect pests. Parasistas. Predators. Pesticides. Integration of control meanures for all rice pests. Implementation of integrated pest management strategies.