An infestation of paddy bugs (Gandi) is affecting rice farmers on the Corentyne in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
Two of the areas more affected by the infestation are Crabwood Creek (CWC) and the Central Corentyne, with farmers saying the quantity and quality of rice they produce would be severely affected.
Anthony Persaud cultivates rice in both areas, and has 20 acres under cultivation at CWC. He said he is overwhelmed by the bugs, which are referred to as Gandhi.
“The Gandhi nuff-nuff! I spray them about eight times, and it still get Ghandi. When you go in the morning, the paddy bug flying in your face; so much of Gandhi. The majority of farmers at Crabwood Creek, Gandhi eat out the rice that is from the first section in Crabwood Creek,” the farmer told this publication.
Persaud said the drug approved for the treatment of this rice bug is not working, and if farmers were to use a drug that has proven to be effective but has not been approved for use, millers would not buy their paddy.
Addressing the issue of paddy bug infestation, Ramgalan Singh, former Extension Officer with the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), who is also a member of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA), pointed out that many farmers have been reporting high infestation. He said this can be verified by the fact that some farmers are having 20 percent damaged grains, and some are having an even higher percentage of damaged grains when they sell their paddy to the mills.
Singh noted that CWC farmer Tiewarker Phagoo, who cultivated 120 acres, sprayed for paddy bugs 12 times and received an average of 18 per cent damage grains when he sold his paddy.
He said he requested the intervention of the GRDB, and several outreaches were held with farmers in cultivated areas over the past week.
GRDB General Manager (ag) Kuldip Ragnauth was among those who visited the Corentyne rice farmers. Meetings were held along the Central Corentyne, and in Black Bush Polder and at CWC.
Larvae (worms)
Meanwhile, rice farmers are facing another issue – larvae (worms) have been feeding on the budding rice grains. This causes the rice plant to wilt as the larvae burrow through its stem. Persaud, who also cultivates 12 acres of rice at Number 58 Village, says the worms have also affected his rice.
“There is a worm in the leaf, and it is hard to kill. You had to spray more than one time, and the drug really can’t get in, because the leaf is folded and the drug would just run off; it (doesn’t) get in. I sprayed with systematic drugs and it is helping, but it takes 2-3 days and sometimes even more. The rice cannot bear anymore after the attack.”
