Species Complex, Damage Pattern and Efficiency of Rodenticides in Controlling Rodents Attacking Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Fields

Rodents principally rats and mice are some of the most bothersome and damaging creatures in the world. Almost every type of food commodity is subjected to rodents attack and losses to cereals are serious problem experienced throughout the sphere. Significantly rodents may affect rice crop production and rodenticides are likely to remain the essential management tool for controlling their damage in the field. This paper reports the results of the field studies to identify and quantify the species complex, damage pattern and efficiency of rodenticides in controlling rodents attacking rice (Oryza sativa L.), fields. The replicated trial was arranged according to randomized complete block design, and the samples for rodent species, preference for poison baits and comparative effectiveness of rodenticides in reducing pest populations and damage were taken before, during and after control operation was applied. Present results revealed that a guild of four rodent species viz., the lesser bandicoot rat (Bandicota bengalensis Gray), the metad (Millardia meltada Gray), the short tailed mole rat (Nesokia indica Gray), and the house mouse (Mus musculus L.) was observed damaging in the rice fields. However, the bandicoot rat (B. bengalensis) was found to be the primary and the most dominant species among the other rodent pests, which was responsible for inflicting severe damage to paddy throughout the rice growing season. Out of two tested rodenticides; Brodifacoum (single dose anticoagulant) was proved more efficient than Warfarin (multiple dose anticoagulant) for rodents management. When compared with additive poison baits, it was found that mixture of Brodifacoum plus egg was preferred by rodents over the other combinations and found most effective to achieve a successful control of these economically important agricultural vertebrate pests. For preventing losses from rodents feeding, growers should also implement a sound integrated pest management (IPM) program in their field crops.