Rice Delphacid Presents New Threat To MS Crop

By Bonnie Coblentz

Rice delphacid is a plant hopper that has been damaging Texas rice since 2015, and this invasive threat to Southern rice production made its appearance in Mississippi last year.

Rice delphacid is native to Central and South America and has been slowly moving north. In addition to Mississippi, it was found in Louisiana and Arkansas in 2025.

Don Cook and Tyler Towles, entomologists with the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Experiment Station, found this pest in mid-September in Mississippi State University rice fields at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville.

After its discovery in Washington County, it was also observed in Bolivar, Humphreys, Leflore and Sunflower counties, which are some of the state’s primary rice-producing areas.

“Rice delphacids feed on various grasses, with rice being its primary and most economically significant host,” Cook said. “They show up in very high numbers, and in addition to the leaf damage that causes yield loss, they excrete excess sugar as honeydew, and this leads to sooty mold in the rice.