Mechanisms of compensation of rice plants to yellow stem borer Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) injury

Field and greenhouse experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of stem borer injury on the physiology and yield response of irrigated rice. The compensation mechanisms investigated included increased tillering, increased percentage of productive tillers, and increased grain weight. Assimilates were translocated from stem borer-injured tillers to healthy tillers. The photosynthesis rate of green leaves in stem borer-injured tillers increased. The results indicate that all these mechanisms can be employed by rice plants in response to stem borer injury. The implications for rice pest management, including breeding for cultivars tolerant to stem borer injury, nitrogen fertilisation to encourage plant compensation. and an increase in the economic threshold for stem borers, are discussed. Copyright (C) 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.