Field population abundance of leafhopper (Homoptera: Cicadelidae) and planthopper (Homoptera: Delphacidae) as affected by rice growth stages

Abstract

The leafhopper (Homoptera: Delphacidae) and planthopper (Homoptera: Cicadelidae) are considered as important rice pest in Asia including Malaysia. As phloem-feeders, they can cause loss to rice growth development and their population abundance is thought to be influenced by rice growth stages. This study was conducted to examine the population of Delphacidae and Cicadelidae between different rice growth stages, i.e. before and after rice planting periods. Monthly sampling was conducted in three sites in Kuala Selangor at before planting, vegetative, reproductive, maturing stages and post-harvest period using sweeping net and light traps. Population abundance of Delphacidae and Cicadelidae were found to be significantly different and positively correlated with different rice growth stages (p<0.05). Delphacidae was most abundance during maturing stages, while the abundance of Cicadelidae peaked during reproductive stage of rice growth. Differences in temporal abundance of the population of these two homopterans indicated adaptive feeding strategy to reduce food competition. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC.