Impact of Hasanta Rice on Yield and Brown Plant Hopper Incidence in Rain-Fed Semi-lowland Ecosystems: A Farmer-centric Study

Abstract

The field experiment was conducted during the Kharif seasons of 2021 and 2022 in farmers’ fields across four adopted villages, involving 13 farmers. The results exhibited that the Brown Plant hopper (BPH) incidence was significantly lower in the rice variety Hasanta compared to the farmers' variety, Pratikshya. Notably, Hasanta recorded higher performance metrics in several key areas. The number of tillers per hill, panicle length, plant height, and test weight were all superior in Hasanta compared to Pratikshya in both years of the study. This indicates a consistent advantage in these agronomic traits. The average grain yield of Hasanta was also notably higher, achieving 43.83 q/ha in 2021 and 45.0 q/ha in 2022. In comparison, the farmers' variety, Pratikshya, yielded 39.25 q/ha in 2021 and 40.10 q/ha in 2022. This demonstrates Hasanta's superior yield performance under the given conditions. Overall, the study determined that the rice variety Hasanta showed consistent tolerance to BPH incidence and performed well under rain-fed conditions. Given its higher yield and resilience, Hasanta is a promising supernumerary over Pratikshya in the rain-fed semi-lowland rice ecosystem, offering substantial yield benefits and higher net returns (Rs. 38290/ha) for farmers.