In mid-May, 2018, the National Agro-Tech Extension and Service Center (NATESC) issued a pest forecast notice, indicating that pests and diseases of early rice in 2018 would occurred seriously. It is expected that Rice plant hopper, rice asiatic borer, and sheath blight will occur seriously, while rice leaf roller and rice blast disease will occurr moderately. There are 18.7 million hectares of occurrence area in the country, including 12.7 million hectares of insect occurrence and 6 million hectares of disease occurrence.

Table 19: Estimated occurrence area of pests and diseases of early rice in 2018

Source: NATESC

In recent years, with the adjustment and optimization of plant industry structure, cultivated area of early rice has been reduced, which is beneficial to the concentration of rice pests such as two-specific migration insects and rice asiatic borer. In addition, under the high irrigated and fertile cultivation conditions, pests and diseases can grow fast, which is conducive to pandemic occurrence.Moreover most of the pests have increased resistance to common pesticides in different degrees, and some rice areas have reached high levels of resistance.

According to the comprehensive forecast from climate centers in various provinces, there will be 7-8 typhoons land on south and southeast coastal area in China this summer. In some places, rice planthopper and rice leaf roller will occour concentratedly and bacterial diseases will have pandemic happen as well.