Water Quality, Climatic and Plant Traits as Predictors on Abundance of Insects in Paddy Field, Tanjung Karang, Selangor, Malaysia

Abstract

Abstract:The abundance of beneficial insects in the paddy field can be influenced by the abundance of insect pests, water parameters, climatic factors and plant traits. This study was conducted to determine effects of water parameters, climatic factors and plant traits on abundant insects. Findings of the studies showed that there were significant correlations between all beneficial insects in paddy field and water parameters tested, namely, water temperature, salinity, turbidity, pH, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, ammonia and total suspended solids. Moreover, the selected water parameters of water temperature, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand and chemical oxygen demand were good predictors for abundant beneficial insects in paddy field at Sungai Burong, specifically for insects of sub-orders Anisoptera and Zygoptera, and insects from families Gerridae and Coccinellidae. The plant height, insect pest, temperature, rainfall and humidity were found to be good predictors on the abundance of beneficial insects; nevertheless, the R 2 value of multiple regression models was relatively low due to significant relationship between water parameters and insects. Consideration factors of water parameters, climatic factors and plant traits were strongly correlated with those parameters and abundance of insects in the paddy field at Sungai Burong, Tanjung Karang, Selangor.

Knowledge, Attitude, Awareness, Communication and Practice among Farmers towards Empowerment of Natural Enemies in Rice Field in Melaka, Malaysia

“…The extensive usage of pesticide in rice field is still the most preferred method to avoid pest population due to its prompt results. However in long term, it can affect the natural resources, environment and rice ecosystem including the beneficial insect (Norazliza, Mohd Rasdi, Fauziah, Fairuz, & Ismail, 2014;Schoenly et al, 2003) such as spiders (Hafiz, Abida, & Sher, 2009), crickets (Lee et al, 2002), mirid bug (Takada, Yoshioka, Takagi, Iwabuchi, & Washitani, 2012), dragon flies (Ameilia Zuliyanti, Che Salmah, & Zulkifli, 2010) and many others.…”

“…Natural enemy refers to the living thing that can reduce the population of pest and disease by means of predation and egg parasitizing (Fuad et al, 2012). Many researchers has been highlighting the importance of natural enemies to the rice productivity (Shui-chen, 1979) and it is very essential for the farmers to understand the purpose of natural enemies in their field (Mohd Hanysyam et al, 2013;Norazliza et al, 2014). Farmers should have equipped themselves with a better understanding of the effects of the chemical to the natural enemies since it will influence the decision made by them.…”