Quantification of Oebalus Insularis (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) Damage In Rice Crop (Oryzica -1) In Panama

In this work, the effect of Oebalus insularis Stål on the yield of rough and milled rice was studied. Two field experiments were carried out using a Complete Randomized Block design with eight treatments and four replicates. In the first, groups of ten newly emerged panicles were confined in separate cages with zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, and seven stink bugs until harvest. The second study determined the susceptibility of the plant at infestation levels of ten stink bugs on ten panicles at different ages since flowering. One stink bug per panicle does not have a significant influence on the yield of rough rice. The crop is susceptible up to ten days after panicle emergence, a period in which infestations greater than 0.7 stink bugs/panicle have a direct and negative effect on milled rice. Later infestations are irrelevant to the yield of milled rice.