Safeguarding beneficial fauna while managing pests using insecticides in rice ecosystems

Abstract

Rice is a crucial staple food crop cultivated worldwide which is harboured by many insect pests. For managing these pests, biological control, which utilizes living organisms to manage insect pests, offers a target-specific, cost-effective, environmentally friendly, safe, and sustainable alternative. Despite its advantages, biological control alone may not always suffice, and chemical control remains necessary due to its speed, ease of application, and cost-effectiveness. Therefore, using chemical insecticides that are effective yet compatible with other IPM tactics provides an added benefit. Unfortunately, rice cultivation in India relies heavily on insecticide use, Hence, the present review tries to give an account of chemical insecticides that are safer to natural enemies of insect pests of rice.