Bioscience Evidence 2026, Vol.16, No.4, 249-263 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 250 and biological pesticides, was associated with an average yield increase of 94 kg/mu (about 1 410 kg/ha) (Vatsa et al., 2023). In Bangladesh, improving the broken rice rate to an acceptable market level could maintain the current food supply while reducing land use by about 170.79 thousand hectares and lowering greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 1.48 million metric tons of CO₂ equivalent (Saha et al., 2021). Rice plants are exposed to many biological threats throughout the growing season, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, nematodes, insects, and weeds. In heavily affected regions, these stresses can cause around 30% of global rice yield losses. Among them, insect pests and weeds have long been recognized as two of the most serious biological constraints to rice production worldwide (Shi et al., 2023). Improper use of insecticides can even make pest problems worse. Frequent or excessive pesticide application destroys natural enemies and weakens the ecological balance of rice fields, making pest outbreaks more likely. Therefore, integrated pest management (IPM) and other eco-friendly pest control strategies have become important approaches for sustainable rice production. These strategies include conserving natural enemies, improving field habitats, using insect-resistant rice varieties, promoting farmer participation, and applying biological pesticides derived from plants or microorganisms (Zhou et al., 2024). Plant-based pest control materials and locally developed biopesticides have also shown good potential. Several biopesticide treatments have significantly reduced populations of green leafhoppers while causing only limited effects on non-target organisms such as spiders. Studies during grain storage have also shown that plant powders can reduce insect damage and help maintain rice quality (Polakitan et al., 2025). Because plant-based pesticides are biodegradable, have a lower environmental impact, and are compatible with biological control, resistant varieties, and other agronomic practices, they are becoming an important part of rice IPM. This paper links sustainable production of high-quality rice with eco-friendly pest management. It focuses on whether green pest control under real field conditions can achieve stable yield, better grain quality, lower pesticide use, higher production efficiency, and improved environmental protection at the same time. It also provides evidence to support future technology extension, farmer training, regional adaptation, and policy development. 2 Eco-Friendly Pest Management Practices 2.1 Early pest monitoring and timely intervention Rice pest management is not based on spraying pesticides on a fixed schedule. Instead, it starts with regular monitoring of pest populations, crop damage, and natural enemy activity. Control measures are taken only when field conditions indicate that they are needed. Field scouting is still an important part of this process. However, traditional manual surveys are time-consuming, subjective, and difficult to track over time. Today, they are increasingly supported by modern monitoring tools, such as machine vision-based automatic light-trap identification systems, field camera monitoring systems, and augmented reality tools that can detect small pests and natural enemies. These technologies improve both the accuracy and speed of pest monitoring (Yao et al., 2020). Studies have shown that automatic light-trap identification is highly consistent with manual counting (r = 0.92). New field detection models can also identify pests accurately in real time under complex field conditions, showing that digital monitoring is becoming a practical tool for precision pest management (Hong et al., 2025; Yin et al., 2025). In field practice, regular monitoring is not intended to spray pesticides as soon as pests are found. Instead, farmers monitor pest abundance, seasonal peaks, crop damage, and natural enemy populations together before deciding whether intervention is necessary. Light-trap studies have shown that different rice pests have distinct seasonal and daily activity patterns. Continuous monitoring provides direct information for choosing the best control timing. A four-year light-trap study identified different peak periods for six major rice pests, making it possible to manage each pest at the right time (Atta et al., 2024). For rice leaffolders and striped stem borers, studies found that trap height and operating time strongly influence monitoring efficiency. Setting light traps at canopy height and adjusting operation during the first or second half of the night improved capture rates of target pests (Uddin et al., 2025). In striped stem borer monitoring, adult moth numbers began to increase sharply in early August and continued rising until October. This result suggests that tracking adult populations allows farmers to take action before serious crop damage occurs (Arain et al., 2025).
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