Japan’s Agriculture Ministry Anticipates Frequent Stink bug Outbreaks Could Affect Rice Crops This Year
On Wednesday, July 9, the Ministry of Agriculture in Japan anticipated the frequent outbreaks of stink bug that could severely affect the rice crops in several parts of the country.
Issuing a pest outbreak alert regarding the stinkbug varieties affecting crops, the agriculture ministry mentioned some specific regions such as in Hokkaido, the southern part of the Tohoku region, the southern part of the Kanto region, the Hokuriku, Tokai and Chugoku. The agriculture ministry of Japan has forecasted the possibility of appearing stink bugs in these regions.
Additionally, frequent outbreaks are anticipated in northern Tohoku, the Kinki and Shikoku regions and the Kyushu region.
The ministry suggested the farmers to adopt some measures such as increasing the monitoring and using targeted insecticide application to prevent further damage, especially given ongoing high temperatures. Not only this, but similar warnings were issued last year also. Outbreaks of rice stink bugs, were confirmed in 37 prefectures out of 45 resulting in significant field losses and lower production in some areas of the country.
Those issued warnings were related to three kinds of stink bugs, first one, that suck nutrients from and discolor rice plants, whereas the secondary bugs that pierce the skin of fruits and extract their juices, and the final category of bugs that attack soybean plants. Farmers had been urged to adopt countermeasures against these perilous insects as they could cause substantial crop damage in the Country. Notably, a foul smell being emit by stink bugs when threatened and generates substances like aldehyde that could irritate the skin. As a result, a sudden rise was observed in the sales of insecticides as farmers used to purchase from the stores to prevent the damage of their crops. Now, the same damage is feared this year.