Investigation on eco-friendly management of yellow stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) in rice through silicon amendment and tolerant varieties for sustainable rice production

Investigation on eco-friendly management of yellow stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) in rice through silicon amendment and tolerant varieties for sustainable rice production | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Investigation on eco-friendly management of yellow stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulas (Walker) in rice through silicon amendment and tolerant varieties for sustainable rice production Divya D Mallesh, Vijaykumar Lingaraj, Shivanna Bynayakala, Lakshminarayana Reddy CN, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8636121/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Rice ( Oryza sativa L.) is a vital staple crop, yet its productivity is a barely affected by the yellow stem borer, Scirpophaga incertulas . Conventional insecticide-based control is limited by larval concealment and resistance, highlighting the need for sustainable alternatives. This study assessed silicon supplementation through diatomaceous earth (DAE, 0.6 t/ha) for managing YSB in popular rice cultivars in Mandya, Karnataka, India. The application of diatomaceous earth (69.50% Silica) markedly reduced YSB incidence, minimizing dead heart (DH) and white ear (WE) damage. Tolerant cultivars such as BR2655 and IR64 showed lower larval tunnelling and larval weight, while untreated variety Jaya remained highly susceptible. Silicon treatment improved stem strength, chlorophyll content, and uptake of nutrients like phosphorus, potassium, and zinc, enhancing plant defenses. It also supported better growth, yield attributes, and rice productivity, with variety Jaya recording 33% higher grain yield compared to untreated control. Correlation and principal component analyses confirmed silicon’s strong positive links with nutrient uptake and chlorophyll, and negative links with pest traits. This indicates that silicon acts not only as a physical barrier but also as a regulator of plant defense and growth. Overall, combining silicon fertilization with tolerant cultivars reduces reliance on insecticides and offers a cost-effective, environmentally safe integrated pest management (IPM) strategy. Adoption of this approach can secure rice yields, safeguard farmer livelihoods, and support sustainable rice production. Silicon Fertilization Rice Yellow Stem Borer Diatomaceous Earth Integrated Pest Management Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 26 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 24 Feb, 2026 Reviews received at journal 18 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 15 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Feb, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 12 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 20 Jan, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 20 Jan, 2026 First submitted to journal 19 Jan, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8636121","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":591536531,"identity":"910dd26c-ad15-491d-9cd7-3cbe4e4e0f94","order_by":0,"name":"Divya D Mallesh","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Divya","middleName":"D","lastName":"Mallesh","suffix":""},{"id":591536532,"identity":"7f0cc860-4164-46ba-acc1-6c4c1cf3a97d","order_by":1,"name":"Vijaykumar 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Conventional insecticide-based control is limited by larval concealment and resistance, highlighting the need for sustainable alternatives. This study assessed silicon supplementation through diatomaceous earth (DAE, 0.6 t/ha) for managing YSB in popular rice cultivars in Mandya, Karnataka, India. The application of diatomaceous earth (69.50% Silica) markedly reduced YSB incidence, minimizing dead heart (DH) and white ear (WE) damage. Tolerant cultivars such as BR2655 and IR64 showed lower larval tunnelling and larval weight, while untreated variety Jaya remained highly susceptible. Silicon treatment improved stem strength, chlorophyll content, and uptake of nutrients like phosphorus, potassium, and zinc, enhancing plant defenses. It also supported better growth, yield attributes, and rice productivity, with variety Jaya recording 33% higher grain yield compared to untreated control. 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