A day-long workshop on brown planthopper (BPH) management in rice was held on Tuesday, 18 August 2009 at the Bangladesh Rice Research Institute (BRRI) in Gazipur.

BRRI and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) jointly organized the workshop. IRRI Representative in Bangladesh Dr M Zainul Abedin attended the workshop as the Chief Guest while Executive Director of the Krishi Gobeshana Foundation Dr M Nurul Alam attended as the special guest. BRRI Director (Research) Dr M A Salam presided. Among others BRRI Director (Admin) Dr A W Julfiquer spoke on the occasion.

Head of BRRI Entomology Division Dr. Mainul Hoque presented the keynote paper while Md. Abul Khayer from the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) presented a paper on their experiences with the pest management.

Some 50 experts and representatives from DAE Bangladesh Agricultural University, Mymensingh, Jahangir Nagar University, Bangladesh Institute of Nuclear Agriculture, NGOs and Bangladesh Crop Protection Association including BRRI participated in the workshop.

BPH, a serious stemsucker pest of rice, damages the crop severely, causing hopperburn normally occurring from April-May in Boro and October-November in T.Aman.

The experts suggest to monitor the pest infestation in T.Aman rice field regularly from the last week of August this year and take necessary control measures already developed by BRRI scientists, keeping in contact with local DAE Office.

Bangladesh NGOs Network for Radio and Communication(BNNRC) demonstrated Community Radio the workshop activities on trial basis.