RICE-PRE - a concept for crop health syndrome model

RICE-PRE, a concept for crop health syndrome model Adam Sparks and Serge Savary Background Plant disease management recommendations are a central premise of botanic epidemiology. Because many rice growers and their extension support systems are increasingly unable to accurately diagnose crop health issues it is important to find other ways to make recommen- dations which will be useful in preventing crop yield losses. RICE-PRE was inspired by the EPIPRE model created by Zadoks [1981]. The premise of RICE-PRE is based upon agroecologies of rice growing areas as defined by Andy Nelson (IRRI, SSD GIS and Remote Sensing Lab). For each agroecology there is a combination of two agricultural objectives from these three: a - maximum yield; b - maximum quality of grain; c - minimal environmental impact, and the season: wet or dry. The combination of these factors allows for the construction of a crop health syndrome profile for the production system whereby a “prescription” can be made. The prescription being field operations and crop protection strategies for what we predict to be the major causes of yield reductions. Statistical analysis of survey data from 456 lowland rice farmers’ fields in tropical and sub-tropical Asia indicate that despite a broad range of environments and possible yield- reducing factors, very strong statistical links were indicated between these syndromes and the production situations [Savary et al., 2011]. RICE-PRE is meant to be strategic (before the season starts), based on strong statistical bases making use of observational survey data collected in South and Southeast Asia in 450 rice fields, make use of prophylactic and preventive tools, especially resistant varieties, but can make use of preventive chemical protection as well, when the risks involved are too high to be accepted, based on the recently developed typology of rice ecologies developed at IRRI, which we combine with agricultural objectives and externalities (positive or negative). Bibliography Serge Savary, Asimina Mila, Laetitia Willocquet, Paul Esker, Odile Carisse, and Neil McRoberts. Risk factors for crop health under global change and agricul- tural shifts: a framework of analyses using rice in tropical and subtropical asia as a model. Phytopathology, (ja), 2011. doi: 10.1094/PHYTO-07-10-0183. URL http://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/abs/10.1094/PHYTO-07-10-0183. Jan C. Zadoks. EPIPRE: a disease and pest management system for winter wheat developed in the netherlands. EPPO Bulletin, 11(3):365–369, 1981. ISSN 1365-2338. doi: 10.1111/j.1365- 2338.1981.tb01945.x. URL http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2338.1981.tb01945.x. Trials were conducted at IRRI starting in 2011 until current date of upload. Trials were also conducted in conjunction with PhilRice at their stations, Nueva Ecjia (NE), Agusan del Norte (ADN), and Negros (NEG).