Bioscience Evidence 2026, Vol.16, No.4, 249-263 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 249 CaseStudy Open Access Field Evidence of Eco-Friendly Pest Management for Sustainable Production of High-Quality Rice QifuZhang Hier Rice Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China Corresponding email: qifu.zhang@hitar.org Bioscience Evidence, 2026, Vol.16, No.4 doi: 10.5376/be.2026.16.0019 Received: 13 Jun., 2026 Accepted: 20 Jul., 2026 Published: 27 Jul., 2026 Copyright © 2026 Zhang, This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Preferred citation for this article: Zhang Q.F., 2026, Field evidence of eco-friendly pest management for sustainable production of high-quality rice, Bioscience Evidence, 16(4): 249-263 (doi: 10.5376/be.2026.16.0019) Abstract High-quality rice production aims not only to achieve stable and high yields but also to improve grain quality, protect the environment, and support sustainable agriculture. Insect pests are one of the main factors affecting rice yield and quality. Conventional pest control mainly depends on chemical pesticides. Although this approach can quickly reduce pest populations, it often leads to pesticide resistance, loss of natural enemies, environmental pollution, and food safety concerns. This paper reviews eco-friendly pest management practices, including pest monitoring and early warning, habitat improvement, conservation of natural enemies, ecological engineering, biological control, and integrated pest management (IPM). Typical field cases, such as green pest control demonstration fields in Zhejiang Province, rice-duck farming systems, ecological engineering in rice fields, and Farmer Field Schools, are used to explain how these practices influence pest population dynamics, plant health, yield formation, environmental protection, and farmers' economic returns. The results show that eco-friendly pest management can effectively reduce pest outbreaks, decrease the use of chemical pesticides, and protect farmland biodiversity. At the same time, it helps maintain or increase rice yield, improves grain quality, and supports a more stable agricultural ecosystem. In the future, greater efforts should be made to strengthen digital pest monitoring, expand ecological farming practices, and encourage cooperation among researchers, extension services, and farmers. These measures will promote the wider adoption of green pest management in high-quality rice production and provide scientific support for food security, ecological sustainability, and long-term agricultural development. Keywords High-quality rice; Eco-friendly pest management; Integrated pest management (IPM); Green pest control; Sustainable agriculture 1 Introduction Rice is one of the most important food crops in the world and provides a stable source of calories for more than half of the global population. However, rice production is facing increasing pressure from climate change, population growth, urbanization, and limited natural resources. In several major rice-producing regions, yield growth has slowed or reached a plateau, while global demand for rice is expected to continue increasing. As a result, improving production without placing greater pressure on the environment has become a major goal of rice research (Bin Rahman and Zhang, 2023). Rice is important not only as a staple food but also for its nutritional value, market value, and eating quality. It contains carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and many bioactive compounds. Improving rice quality can also help achieve both food security and environmental sustainability at the same time (Mohidem et al., 2022). Rice is also one of the largest consumers of freshwater in agriculture. More than 75% of the world's rice is still grown under flooded conditions. The long-term sustainability of rice farming is threatened by water shortages, methane emissions, rising labor costs, declining soil health, and increasing biotic and abiotic stresses (Nawaz et al., 2022). High yield and efficient resource use are not mutually exclusive. An analysis of 32 rice production systems covering about half of the world's harvested rice area showed that most systems still have room to improve both yield and resource-use efficiency. By improving only the systems with the largest yield gaps or the lowest efficiency, global rice production could theoretically increase by 32% while almost eliminating excessive nitrogen use (Yuan et al., 2021). A survey conducted in five provinces of China found that wider adoption of climate-smart agricultural practices, including reduced tillage, improved rice varieties, organic manure, water-saving irrigation,
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