Green Revolution, Rice Pests, and Environment

Green Revolution in Indonesia was initiated by the introduction of new high yielding rice varieties (VUB) IR5 and IR8 are responsive to fertilizer, especially nitrogen. VUB will produce grain 2-3 times higher than the results of the local varieties that urea fertilizer at high doses (200-300 kg urea / ha). VUB planting early maturing age to moderate and greedy to facilitate fertilization increased cropping intensity. Intensification of cultivation VUB continuously mengalterasi physico-chemical soil and microclimate. Thus, there arose a new biotype of new pests and pathogens patotipe. More control using pesticides. Brigades controlling pests and diseases in the area formed Guidance for spraying one, two, even three times a week. Natural enemies of pests go extinct due to excessive pesticide applications. Technological modernization of rice production systems resulted into a trap pest management complexity previously unimaginable (Tri Pranadji et al., 2005).

Intensification of rice production to increase production in order to meet the needs of growing rice apparently causing environmental degradation, such as water pollution (pesticide residues) and air (methane emission) (Balingtan 2008). Concentrations of pesticide residues and other agrochemicals have been identified in the territorial waters of irrigation Jatilahur (Fagi 2006) and other production centers. Environmental Research Institute of Agriculture has an inventory of pesticide residues in rice production centers (Balingtan 2008). IRRI (1993) systematically examined the residues of pesticides and their impact on the health of farmers in the province of Laguna, Nueva Ecija, and Quezon. The conclusion of the study, are:

• nitrate residues found in the water wells used as drinking water, nitrate concentration was below the maximum allowable concentration (10 ppm).

• Water in Laguna contain residues of carbofuran and endosulfan; concentrations of pesticide residues was lower in Nueva Ecija, because farmers use pesticides are not excessive.

Although pesticide residues in production centers detected in the waters and even in the grains of rice in the main markets, the impact on health have not been studied clearly. In the centers of rice production in the Philippines, where farmers grow rice 2-3 times a year, it was found that (IRRI 1993):

• from 152 rice farmers, they often use pesticides to control pests suffer from health problems two times more than those who rarely use pesticides (Figure 1),

• despite increasingly frequent spraying pesticide over rice intensification guarantee success, but the costs for health cure is greater than the benefits.

In addition to brown planthopper, green leafhopper, stem borer and bacterial leaf blight and blast, rat rampant due to technological modernization of rice and upland rice. With the modernization of technology, the availability of feed increasingly allow reproduction of mice increased in a year.

Figure 1. Comparison of the incidence of diseases suffered by farmers often use pesticides and are rarely used in Laguna, Nueva Ecija and Quezon, Philippines (IRRI 1993).