Commercial adoption of pheromones as a component in ICM of rice in Bangladesh

Bangladesh has been enormously successful in increasing its rice production in an effort to attain self-sufficiency. This has been largely achieved through an increase in acreage of the Boro crop (high-yielding, irrigated, post-rainyseason rice), with the BRRI introducing a range of high-yielding varieties to replace the more traditional deep-water varieties. However, insecticide use is also increasing, at the expense of both farmers and the environment. To assist local institutions and companies to work with farmers to reduce insecticide use and promote integrated crop management (ICM), this project aimed to adapt existing pheromone-based control methods (specifically for rice yellow stem borer) to local conditions, and incorporate them into the ICM programme promoted by Syngenta Bangladesh Ltd through its farmer field school programm