Letting nature manage its battles

Advice for managing rice pests, such as planthoppers, has taken on a simple message: let nature have its way in your fields. But doing away with time-old practices dependent on assurance from insecticides is not straightforward. In a statement calling for support on pesticide regulation and for a ban of the use of specific insecticides in rice that contribute to planthopper outbreaks, the International Rice Research Institute has offered alternative practices to better manage pests. 09/01/12