Abstract
Paddy fields used for carrying out environmental education activities for children (PCEEAs) are mostly managed without the use of insecticides and fertilizers. In order to clarify whether PCEEAs are the source of rice pests, we studied the occurrence of rice pests in PCEEAs. The populations of leafhoppers and planthoppers in PCEEAs were equal to those in conventional paddy fields, or were lesser than those in conventional paddy fields. The population of spiders, which are natural enemies of rice pests, in PCEEAs was equal to that in conventional paddy fields. In this study, we think that the populations of leafhoppers and planthoppers are smaller in PCEEAs because of the light color of the rice leaves in PCEEAs. We think that few rice bugs migrate from PCEEAs to conventional paddy fields, since the ear emergence time in PCEEAs is later than that in conventional paddy fields.
