The African armyworm (Spodoptera exempta)

Armyworms may cause severe defoliation in upland rice plants leaving only the stem. Armyworms are regarded as occasional pests, but during an outbreak they devastate rice crops.

The African gall midge (Orseolia oryzivora)

It is a small reddish-brown midge (similar to a mosquito) 4 to 5 mm long. Females lay up to 300 eggs on rice leaf sheaths. Upon hatching, the small maggots wiggle down to the leaf blade and move between the leaf sheath and the stem until the growing points where they feed for 2 to 3 weeks. Larval feeding induces development of light swellings or galls, which are inconspicuous until larvae are ready to pupate. The galls are long cylindrical, about 3 mm in diameter and from a few cm up to 1 to 1.5 m long. They are often silvery white and resemble an onion leaf, hence they are generally known as 'silver shoots' or 'onion leaf galls'.

Galls generally appear about 20 to 40 days after the crop has been transplanted. Gall midges can cause serious damage from the seedling stage to panicle initiation. Attacked tillers do not produce panicles. Galled plants may tiller profusely to compensate for loss of growing points. A serious attack results in stunted plant growth and poor yields. Gall midges do not attack rice plants that have matured beyond tillering stage. These midges spent some generations on wild grasses and then move to attack young rice plants. They are pests during the rainy season, and are most serious on rain-fed lowland and irrigated rice.

Bacterial leaf blight (Xanthomonas oryza pv. oryza)

The first symptom of the disease is a water soaked lesion on the edges of the leaf blades near the leaf tip. The lesions expand and turn yellowish and eventually greyish-white and the leaf dries up. High rainfall with strong winds provides conditions for the bacteria to multiply and enter the leaf through injured tissue.

Blast (Pyricularia oryzae (Magnaporthe grisea)

This disease can cause serious losses to susceptible varieties during periods of blast favourable weather. Depending on the part of the plant affected, the disease is often called leaf blast, rotten neck, or panicle blast. The fungus produces spots or lesions on leaves, nodes, panicles, and collar of the flag leaves. Leaf lesions range from somewhat diamond-shaped to elongated with tapered, pointed ends. The centre of the spot is usually grey and the margin brown or reddish-brown. Both the shape and colour of the spots may vary and resemble those of the brown leaf spot disease. Blast differs from brown leaf spot in that it causes longer lesions and develops more rapidly.

The blast fungus frequently attacks nodes at the base of the panicle and the branches of the panicle. If the panicle is attacked early in its development, the grain on the lower portion of the panicle may be blank giving the head a bleached whitish colour, giving the name "blasted" head or rice "blast". If the node at the base of the panicle is infected, the panicle breaks causing the "rotten neck" condition. In addition, the fungus may also attack the nodes or joints of the stem. When a node is infected, the sheath tissue rots and the part of the stem above the point of infection often is killed. In some cases, the node is weakened to the extent that the stem will break causing extensive lodging. Blast generally occurs scattered throughout a field rather than in a localised area of the field. Late planting, frequent showers, overcast skies, and warm weather favour development of blast. Spores of the fungus are produced in great abundance on blast lesions and can become airborne, disseminating the fungus a considerable distance. High nitrogen fertilisation should be avoided in areas that have a history of blast.

Brown leaf spot (Bipolaris oryzae)

This disease was previously called Helminthosporium leaf spot. Most conspicuous symptoms of the disease occur on leaves and glumes of maturing plants. Symptoms also appear on young seedlings and the panicle branches in older plants. Brown leaf spot is a seed-borne disease. Leaf spots may be evident shortly after seedling emergence and continue to develop until maturity.

Leaf spots vary in size and are circular to oval in shape. The smaller spots are dark brown to reddish brown, and the larger spots have a dark-brown margin and reddish brown to grey centres. Damage from brown spot is particularly noticeable when the crop is produced in nutritionally deficient or otherwise unfavourable soil conditions. Significant development of brown spot is often indicative of a soil fertility problem.

The case worm (Nymphula depunctalis - Parapoynx stagnalis)

The case worm is a common pest on wetland rice. Moths are small (1 to 1.2 cm in wingspan) with white markings and black specks on the wings. Females lay eggs in small batches (about 20) on the lower side of leaves that are floating on the water surface. Upon hatching caterpillars are yellow to green with light brown heads. They climb onto a leaf and begin feeding by scrapping the leaf surface causing linear grazing of leaves giving the leaf tissue a ladder-like appearance. Later caterpillars cut a piece of rice leaf, roll it up into a case and seal the edges with silk material leaving the interior end open. The cut near the tip of a leaf is characteristic.

At all times the caterpillar is likely to be partly or wholly enclosed in its portable leaf case. The caterpillar attacks the food plant only in the vegetative stage, during the first 4 weeks after transplanting. Caterpillars of the case worm are semi-aquatic, ascending the plants at night to feed. Heavy infestation on small seedlings may completely destroy a rice crop. Damaged plants may recover but crop maturation may be delayed about a week. Yield loss may occur when the caseworm occurs in combination with other non-defoliating insects such as whorl maggots and stemborers. Damaged plants are stunted and produce fewer tillers.

Damping-off diseases

Failure of seedlings to emerge is the most obvious symptom of seed rot and pre-emergence damping off. Examination may reveal a cottony growth of mycelium (mould) in and around seed coats and the emerging seedlings, indicating attack by water mould(s). The growing point or root of germinated seedlings has a dark brown discolouration or rot. The base of the leaf sheath and the roots of emerged seedlings have a similar dark brown or reddish-brown rot. Affected seedlings appear stunted and yellow and may soon wither and die (seedling blight). Water moulds are particularly severe in water-seeded rice culture. In areas where fields are frequently water-seeded, it has become difficult to obtain adequately dense and uniform stands. Seed rots caused by the water moulds Pythium and Achlya, and to a lesser extent by the fungus Fusarium, have been identified as the causes of the problem. These fungi often act as a complex within affected fields.

Symptoms of water mould can be observed through the flood water as balls of fungal strands radiating from seeds on the soil surface. When the water is removed using the critical point method of water-seeding, affected seeds are surrounded by a mass of fungal strands. This results in circular, copper brown or dark green spots on the soil surface, about the size of a penny, with the rotted seed at the centre. The colours of the spots are the result of bacterial and algal growth. Seed rot by water moulds is favoured when the water temperature is unusually high or low. If seedlings are attacked after germination at pegging, seedlings become yellow and stunted and grow poorly.

Flea beetles (Chaetocnema spp.)

Flea beetles make small holes in the leaf when feeding, however, this damage is considered minor. Most important, these beetles are potential vectors of the Rice Yellow Mottle Virus. Flea beetles are small, and have enlarged hind legs and jump when disturbed.

Hispid beetles (Trichispa spp., Dicladispa viridicyanea, Dactylispa bayoni)

Hispid beetles are serious pests of rice in some countries in Africa, causing severe defoliation and as vectors of the Rice Yellow Mottle Virus. Adult beetles have numerous spines on thorax and abdomen. Trichispa sericea is the most common of the hispid beetles. The adult is a dark grey beetle covered with spines, and about 3 to 4 mm long. Females lay eggs singly in slits made under the epidermis of the upper portion of the leaf. Eggs are white, boat-shaped and about 1 mm long. Upon hatching, the grubs (larvae) mine within the leaf. Grubs are slender, yellow and about six mm long. They pupate in the mine. When infested leaves are held against the light, the grub or pupa may be seen as a dark spot in the mine. Hispid beetles attack the crop in the early growth stages. Larval feeding occurs during the tillering stage. The first attack in a field is highly localised, but the infested area spreads rapidly.

Feeding by adults on the leaves causes characteristic narrow white streaks or feeding scars that run along the long axis of the leaf. Mining by grubs within the leaf shows as irregular pale brown blister-like patches. Feeding results in loss of chlorophyll and the plants wither and die. The most serious damage occurs in nurseries, which may be completely destroyed. Severe infestations sporadically occur on transplanted rice and can kill the plant. When the plants survive, they usually recuperate and produce some grain. However, damaged plants often mature late. Hispid beetles are prevalent in wetland environments, especially irrigated lowland fields. They are generally most abundant during the rainy season.

Rice-sucking bugs, stink bugs (Aspavia spp, Nezera viridula), and Alydid bugs (Mirperus spp.and Riptortus spp.)

Stink bugs produce a strong odour when disturbed. Adult Aspavia bugs are brown bugs with a large triangular shield on the back having three yellow spots and a spine at each side of the thorax. Nezera viridula is green and about 1.2 cm long. Alydid bugs have a long slender body and lack a triangular shield on the back. Riptortus is stout and varies from light to dark brown; the hind legs are enlarged.

Both nymphs and adult bugs feed sucking rice grains in the milky stage. When grains have ripened the bugs feed on panicle stalks and pedicels. Riptortus bugs also feed on hard dough rice grains. Bug feeding causes pecky rice that is partially or wholly stained due to infections with bacteria and fungi. The glumes change colour first to light brown, then darker and may turn grey in severe cases. Damage grains are shrivelled and unfilled. Severity of the damage depends on the stage of grain development and on the number of punctures in the grain.

Rice whorl maggots (rice leafminers) (Hydrellia spp.)

The rice whorl maggot (Hydrellia prosternalis) has been reported from West Africa. Another species Hydrellia sp. has been reported in Kenya (NIB, 1995). Adults of the rice whorl maggot and rice leafminers are small flies (1.5 to 3 mm long), grey to black in colour with silvery white or golden brown markings on the lower part of the head. They lay white cigar-shaped eggs on the leaves. Upon hatching the maggots of the leafminers penetrate the leaf tissue and feed in between the 2 layers of the leaf causing mines parallel to the veins. Maggots may pupate in an existing mine or migrate to a different leaf to form a new mine. High humidity (80-100% relative humidity) is required for leafminer development, therefore, mines are typically observed in leaves close or lying on the water surface. Whorl maggots start feeding on the leaf margins causing large scarred areas giving the leaf a ragged appearance and causing eventual leaf collapse. Eventually the maggots enter the whorl and tunnel the plant's developing stem.

Feeding damage by leafminers retards plant development, reduces plant vigour and renders infested plants less competitive with weeds. Plant vigour and weather conditions affect the extent and seriousness of the damage caused by the rice leafminer. Damage extent is closely related to the speed the plant growths erect and out of the water. Any factor affecting plant growth, which increases the number of leaves remaining lying on the water, or the length of time they are fully in contact with water will increase damage. The plant is usually able to produce additional leaves, but continued mining can result in reduced tillering, greater susceptibility to later pest attack, delayed maturity, or death of the plant. Once leaves start growing upright above the water, the rice leafminer does not cause economic damage. Attack by the whorl maggot may kill young plants (2 to 6 weeks after emergence) depending on the severity of the damage. Plants that survived damage are eventually drowned by the flood, or plant stands get so thinned that are easily overwhelmed by weeds.
Other leaf-mining fly (Creodont orbiting) has been reported as a minor pest in West Africa. This leaf-mining fly is widely spread in the rice-growing region in Ghana, but it is of no apparent economic importance. The adult is a small fly (about 1.6 mm long). Females lay eggs into the leaf tissue, and the maggots feed forming mines towards the leaf tip. Maggots pupate within the mines. Symptoms of damage are the transparent, light brown mines that are elongated along one side of the midrib reaching up to 6 cm in length.

Rice Yellow Mottle Virus (RYMV) (Sobemovirus)

Rice yellow mottle virus is endemic in Africa, was first reported in Kenya in 1966, but is now known to occur in almost all irrigated rice growing areas in Africa. This disease can cause up to 92% yield loss on "Super", the most popular rice variety in Tanzania.

RYMV causes severe infections mainly in irrigated rice and is transmitted by beetles (Sesselia pusilla, Chaetocnema pulla, Trichispa sericea and Dicladispa viridicyanea) and mechanically. It is not seed transmitted.

Major symptoms of the disease are yellowing of leaves, stunting of affected plants, reduced tillering of the affected plants and sterility of the seed/grain.

Rice root-knot nematode (Meloidogyne graminicola)

Symptoms consist of characteristic hooked-like galls on roots, newly emerged leaves appear distorted and crinkled along the margins, and infested plants are stunted and yellow. Heavily infested plants flower and mature early. The rice root-knot nematode is a damaging parasite on upland, lowland and deepwater rice. It is well adapted to flooded conditions and can survive in waterlogged soil as eggs in egg-masses or as juveniles for long periods.

Numbers of nematodes decline rapidly after 4 months but some egg masses can remain viable for at least 14 months in waterlogged soil. This root-knot nematode can also survive in soil flooded to a depth of one m for at least 5 months. It cannot invade rice in flooded conditions but quickly invades when infested soils are drained. It can survive in roots of infected plants. It prefers soil moisture of 32%. It develops best in moisture of 20% to 30% and soil dryness at rice tillering and panicle initiation. Its population increases with the growth of susceptible rice plants.

Stemborers

Several species of stemborers attack rice. The more important are the striped borer (Chilo partellus), Chilo zacconius, Chilo orichalcocilielus, the white rice borer (Maliarpha separatella), the yellow borer (Scirpophaga sp.) and the pink stemborer (Sesamia calamistis).
The caterpillars bore into the stem of rice plants. Caterpillars of the yellow borer bore into the stem below the growing point, destroying tillers. The white borer and the pink stemborer attack rice at full tillering stage preventing grains from filling up and ripening. This damage results in empty panicles known as "whiteheads". The striped borer feed on rice plants at all stages. Young caterpillars cause "dead hearts".

Stalk-eyed shoot flies (Diopsis spp.)

The dark brown flies are about 8 mm in length, and have the eyes situated on 2 long stalks projecting from both sides of the head. Flies lay eggs singly on the upper surface of young leaves, or on the leaf sheath of older plants. The whitish maggots that hatch from the eggs penetrate into the growing zone (heart) of the plant. As a result of maggot feeding the central whorl does not open, but dries-up and dies, producing what is commonly known as "dead heart".

Maggots move readily from one tiller to another. One maggot can destroy up to 10 neighbouring tillers. Later generations feed on the developing flower head. Pupation normally occurs in the first 3 leaf sheath of healthy tillers, generally one pupa per tiller. A severe attack is likely to occur when water levels are low. Such attacks reduce yields of rice plants. Shoot fly attack rice plants early in the crop growth stage, shortly after emergence in direct-seeded fields or shortly after transplanting. They are present throughout the crop growth period, although infestation is low in the flowering-ripening stages.

Storage pests (Sitophilus oryzae, Rhyzopertha dominica)

The most serious pests of stored rice are the rice weevils (Sitophilus oryzae) and the lesser grain-borer (Rhyzopertha dominica). Good store hygiene plays an important role in limiting infestation by rice weevil.

Termites (Microtermes spp., Ancistrotermes spp., Trinervitermes spp., Macrotermes spp., and Odontotermes spp.).

Termites, also known as white ants are common pests of upland rice in West Africa where they may cause serious damage during dry periods. They may also occur in lowland areas in light texture soils. They generally attack plants in their later growth stage by hollowing out their root system and filling it with soil resulting in the lodging of the rice plants. The attacked plants are then predisposed to further damage by ground-dwelling pests such as rodents, ants, and secondary infection by fungi and bacteria. Damaged plants can easily be pulled up by hand because the roots are severed.

White tip nematode (Aphelenchoides besseyi)

Rice is the most important host worldwide. Other host plants include; strawberry, onion, garlic, sweet corn, sweet potato, soybean, sugar cane, horseradish, lettuce, millet, many grasses, orchids, chrysanthemum, marigold, Mexican sunflower, African violets, and rubber plant (Hibiscus brachenridgii). Feeding of the nematodes at leaf tips in rice results in whitening of the top 3 to 5 cm of the leaf leading to necrosis (described as "White Tip" of rice). There is also distortion of the flag leaf that encloses the panicle. Diseased plants are stunted, lack vigour and produce small panicles. Affected panicles show high sterility, distorted glumes and small and distorted kernels.