Can Rice Teach Us Something

The morning of May 27th our staff was in prayer and my phone kept ringing. I noticed it was our rice farm manager, Paul Mok. I hit the 'off' button but he kept calling. I figured this must be important and went outside to take the call. Paul explained that our 1,000 acres of rice was under attack from a certain 'leaf hopper' insect which carries a very deadly virus for rice. (Yes, rice get's viruses too!) I was familiar with this broad family of viruses having studied it in the classroom, greenhouse, laboratory and fields at the International Rice Research Institute. We both knew that our window of opportunity to fight would be limited. So, I asked him. "Where can we buy the treatment?" He said, "Vietnam". This was a new strain of the 'Tungro' virus. You have to be smart in your treatment, or you can bankrupt yourself trying to protect your crop. This particular virus is carried in the bodies of adult female leafhoppers. Some farmers panic and start spraying the adults trying to quarantine their fields. The problem is that after they have spent all their money and exhausted themselves, bugs fly in from the neighbor's fields. So, the method of attack is very precise. You watch the fields closely every day, when the adults lay their eggs in the whorl of the rice plants, you keep your eye on them until the very oldest egg masses start to darken and larva are ready to emerge, then you spray them and you have great success. Wait too long and the emerged larva infect the plant. Apply the right chemical at the right time and "poof!" No more virus. Is it possible we could learn from a rice plant?