Expanding agricultural pests are threatening rice farmers and waterbirds alike. In Louisiana, farmers double their yield by harvesting crayfish that thrive in rice crop water. These farms function as managed wetlands in a working landscape, providing artificial habitat to waterbird species like rails, American coots (Fulica americana) and grebes. However, the expansion of invasive apple snails (Pomacea maculata) and rice delphacids (Tagosodes orizicolus) threatens this agricultural ecosystem. The apple snails feast upon the young shoots of rice while rice delphacids pierce the rice plants and suck out their sap, causing circular dead patches in fields. The delphacids also transmit a virus that stunts or kills rice plants. These pests force farmers to use more expensive cultivation methods and make their work more laborious, as they must shift between harvesting crayfish and removing snails. “I think everyone agrees, it’s not going to be a silver bullet approach. Like, oh, we can just breed for it or we could just spray our way out of it,” Adam Famoso, director of Louisiana State University’s Rice Research Station, told AP News.
Read more at the Associated Press about the invasive species and rice-crayfish agriculture here.
