Insect-pests of rice and their natural enemies in Andaman and Nicobar Islands

摘要

Fifteen insect pests of rice were recorded from the Andaman islands and 10 from the Nicobars for the first time. In addition, 11 natural enemies resident in the rice fields of these islands were also recorded. The absence of some major pests of rice in these islands is also stressed. Rice is the major food crop in the Andaman and Nicobar islands, covering an area of about 12,000 ha. (Anon., 1989). It is generally grown during the kharif season (July to December). Sometimes, two crops of rice are raised in some pockets, the first one between May-August and the second between September - December. Earlier reports on the insect pests of rice in these islands were by Abbas and Gangwar (1983); Jainath and Gangwar (1984) and Bhumannavar et al. (1991).The present paper includes an additional 15 pests from the Andamans and ten from the Nicobar islands. Eleven natural enemies on some of these pests are also reportedforthe firsttime from these islands.