This TVNI hosted webinar “Vetiver Grass for the control of stem borer of rice in China” was held on March 1st 2022. The webinar (55 minutes) comprises a presentation by guest speaker Dr. Zhongxian Lu of the Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou,, China. He shared with his audience the experimental and field development application of ecological engineering of rice insect pest management, with a focus on the critical use of Vetiver grass to control the pink and striped stem borer of rice. Thus far 270,000 ha of rice has been protected using the technology developed by Dr. Zhongxian Lu and his team. The use of vetiver for this application has resulted in an 80% reduction in pesticide use in the control of stem borer, improved the quality of rice and net income/ha, and appears to be reversing the resistance of pests to those pesticides that are being used.
The presentation includes some very interesting data and figures, and we recommend that when viewing that you use the pause button frequently!
Dr Lu, received his PhD degree in Agricultural Entomology and Pest Control from Zhejiang University, China, and a research certificate from the International Rice Research institute (IRRI) in the Philippines. Lu is a professor and head of crop insect pest management at the Zhejiang Academy of Agriculture Sciences (ZAAS). He is also the PI of the state key laboratory for managing biotic and chemical treatments, and for quality and safety of agro-chemicals; and the principal scientist of China Agriculture Research System for rice pest management. His work mainly focuses on conservation biological control and sustainable pest management using ecological engineering techniques, where he made pioneering contributions to using vetiver for rice stem borer management in China. Dr. Lu has published more than 350 papers in peer review journals, edited 5 books, and has been awarded 14 prizes from China’s national and provincial governments.