Welcome to the Rice Doctor. This diagnostics tool will help you to identify problems in your crop and provide actionable advice on how to manage them.
What is the Rice Doctor?
The Rice Doctor is a mid-season diagnostics tool for rice crop problems caused by pests, diseases and abiotic stresses due to agronomic mis -management, nutritional imbalance or the environment. The Rice Doctor helps visually diagnose the cause of the problem and provides actionable cultural, mechanical, biological and chemical advices for the prevention/management of the problem.
Rice Doctor is for the use of anyone who needs help with diagnosing a rice crop problem and advise on its management. This audience includes rural advisors such as private advisory services, extension agents, non-government organisation, plant clinics, farmers and farmer organisations.
This product has been developed over a number of years by an international team involving:
- The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI)
- The Lucid team, originally at the University of Queensland, Australia but now at Identic Pty Ltd
The challenge
Rice is subject to a variety of pest and diseases which, if left untreated, can lead to significant yield losses, and therefore reduction in farmer profits. In a study conducted by the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI), it was found that, on average, farmers lose 37% of their rice yield to pests and diseases, and that these losses can range between 24% and 41% depending on the production situation.
To be able to manage yield limiting factors effectively, the most important step is the early and correct diagnosis of the problem. Once a diagnosis is established and managing the problem is necessary to avoid production losses, the right management techniques need to be applied correctly and at the right times.