Use of sex pheromone in population control and damage reduction of striped rice stem borer Chilo suppressalis in paddy fields

Chilo suppressalis, is one of the destructive pests of rice in many rice producing countries, including Iran. Considering the adverse effects of using chemical pesticides in the rice crop ecosystem against striped stem pest, pheromones are also considered as an expensive pest management tool. The present research was conducted in two cropping seasons at Rice Research Institute of Iran, (Rasht). In this research, 5 treatments including: 1- sex pheromone with 1 trap per hectare, 2 - sex pheromone with 3 traps per hectare, 3- sex pheromone with 5 traps per hectare, 4- sex pheromone with 7 traps per hectare and 5- control (spraying granules of 10% Diazinon 15 kg/ha) was applied in the research field. The results of the present study showed that the least dead hearts and infestation of white heads, the number of counted larvae and the highest yield obtained from  using  the concentration of 2 mg of the effective substance of the sex pheromone of striped stem borer with 5 to 7 traps per hectare. Also the highest contamination of dead hearts and white heads, the number larvae and the lowest yield were observed in the treatments of one and three traps per hectar. According the results of the present study, it seems that the control of striped stem borer pest using sex pheromone creates a promising in an integrated pest management program.