We have no good method of predicting the infestation levels of rice water weevils in any year. If you are producing rice on old rice land, and have had water weevil infestations in the past, you can expect to have water weevils again. Water weevils at high infestation levels can reduce rice yields by 20 percent in dry seeded rice and higher in water seeded rice. Karate has continued to provide good to excellent control of adult rice water weevils. I do not know of any failures when Karate was applied within seven days after permanent flood establishment.
Timing is important to control the adult water weevil before eggs are deposited.
One application of Karate has been sufficient to effectively control water weevils in most situations although two applications may be required in locations with high water weevil populations or in water seeded rice. Karate also controls armyworm, stink bug, aphid, green bugs, and suppresses grasshoppers. Efforts are continuing to have Furadan available in 1999, but at this point, it does not look promising for renewal of that label. With alternatives available, such as Karate and Icon, EPA is not anxious to grant a request for extension of the Furadan label. Thus, at this point, you should plan on using either Icon as a seed treatment, or Karate to control the adult weevils.