BIONATURE

In Asia, yellow stem borer (YSB) Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is the most economically significant and common insect pest of rice (Oryza sativa L.) especially in the irrigated and rainfed lowland ecosystems. It is monophagous, cryptically internally fed, and highly synchronized to rice growth stages, which allows chronic damage to both the vegetative and reproductive stages with symptoms that include the dead heart and white ear and severely diminish the tillering and grain harvest. The review gives a synthesis of YSB taxonomy and geographic distribution, life cycle biology (egg, larval, pupal, and adult stages), damage mechanisms, physiological effects on host plants and variables affecting population dynamics (nitrogen fertilization, planting timing, and climatic variables). The traditional and new management techniques are talked about in the presence of economic threshold levels (ETL) and monitoring devices like pheromone traps. It focuses on integrated pest management (IPM) methods, including cultural control methods (optimal planting dates, balanced fertilization, water management), host-plant resistance (morphological and biochemical), biological control (egg parasitoids such as Trichogramma japonicum, Telenomus spp., Tetrastichus schoenobii), biorational insecticides (e.g., spinosad), selective chemicals (e.g., chlorantraniliprole), and behavioral control (e.g., using the mating dis The review points out the transition of depending on general insecticides with a general approach to sustainable and environmental-friendly strategies to reduce the resistance, recurrence, and environmental hazards. The future directions involve the exploitation of genomic understanding, accuracy tracking, and climate-tolerant IPM as a means of managing this chronic rice pest effectively and in the long-term.