Managing Tadpole Shrimp in Rice Fields
Wednesday Apr 7th, 2021
News Reporter
With California Ag Today, I’m Tim Hammerich.
Rice is such a unique crop, and with a unique crop you’re going to get unique pests. Some California rice producers are noticing tadpole shrimp are showing signs of resistance to the pyrethroids that have managed the pest in the past. Ian Grettenberger is an assistant cooperative extension specialist with UC Ag and Natural Resources.
Grettenberger… “Tadpole shrimp are a funny critter. They're adapted to Vernal pools, evolutionarily. And so they are an organism where you add water and eggs hatch, basically. And so their eggs are actually in the soil. They're desiccated, dry. Once water is added and the temperature is to a certain level, then they hatch. And that corresponds with when fields are flooded with rice, and then they start growing.”