Rice gall midge

Caused by: Orseolia oryzae
Problem Category: Sucking insect pest
Symptoms: Gall midge maggot bore into bud or stalk of rice plant and feeds on internal content which leads to formation of tubular gall at the base of the tillers. This leads to elongation of leaf sheath which is commonly called as silver shoot or onion shoot. The leaves will be wilted, deformed and curled up. Light yellow coloured Maggots are headless, legless and remain inside the basal part of the stem and injecting a toxin cecidogen resulting in the formation of a hollow tubular gall known as “silver shoot” which resembles onion leaf. Affected tillers do not bear panicles. It is observed, early infestation of this pest encourages profuse tillering and stunted growth of the plants. Damage varies between 8 to 50%.
Comments: It is common during tillering stage of rice crop.The adult is a small fly like a mosquito with yellow brown body and long dark brown hairy legs. The adult female is bright red with a reddish brown abdomen. Eggs are laid at leaf base singly. Larva is the damaging stage. Pupation occurs in the silver shoot.
Management: Grow available gall midge resistant cultivars. Follow proper cultural practices like crop rotation, ploughing the ratoon crop and other alternative hosts, planting early etc. Use light traps to attract adult flies and kill them. Conserve biocontrol agents in rice field. 1. Avoid mono cropping. 2. Early planting and synchronous planting. 3. Growing tolerant / resistant varieties like vasundhara (RGL-2538), Srikakulam Sannalu(RGL-2537) Vamsadhara(RGL-11414), satyaranjan, chandrama, jayamati, kapilee, ketekijoha. 4. Spraying 5% neem seed kernel extract to repel adults.
Control: Spray 5% Neemastram or vavilaku kashyam to control the gall midge damage