The rice crop (Oryza sativa) and its major phytosanitary problems: A focus on the Gharb region

Abstract

Rice (Oryza sativa) is the staple food of more than half of the world's population. Its production is confronted with several biotic constraints. As a matter of fact, rice blast (Pyricularia oryzae) and brown spot of rice (Helminthosporium oryzae), weeds, and granivorous birds have negative impacts on rice yield. This literature review aimed at identifying the main pests and fungal diseases of rice and to establish integrated management strategies against them. An update was performed on the plain of Gharb in Morocco. It appeared that cultural practices such as soil levelling are of paramount importance for all methods that proceed. In contrast, biological control is not widely adopted in the world due to its cost, efficacy and climatic conditions in the field. Traditional methods remain the most widely used ecological methods for scaring away granivorous birds. However, for the chemical control of rice blast and brown spot of rice, tricyclazole and propiconazole, respectively, are the most efficient active ingredients for inhibiting the severity of these fungi. The rational mixture of herbicides to control weeds is effective and is one of the solutions to avoid resistance problems. With regard to these control methods, the reinforcement of cultural practices and the monitoring of the development of pests and diseases make it possible to reduce the use of phytosanitary products for the protection of rice crop and the environment.

Keywords

• Oryza sativa
• Gharb plain
• Pyricularia oryzae
• Helminthosporium oryzae
• weeds
• granivorous birds