Tritrophic interaction between predator, Verania lineata – pest, Nilaparvata lugens and host plant, Oryza sativa from four provinces in West Sumatra, Indonesia: toward better pest management

In this study, the tritrophic interaction between Nilaparvata lugens (Hemiptera: Delphacidae) -Verania lineata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) – Oryza sativa (Poaceae) across the northern, southern, western, and eastern regions of West Sumatra, Padang, Indonesia was investigated. Phylogenetic analyses (Neighbour-Joining and Maximum Parsimony trees) showed a mixture of individuals from different localities within the same clades. For V. lineata and N. lugens respectively, the nucleotide diversity (π) was (0.00532, 0.00136), nucleotide subdivision (Nst) was (0.04266, 0.00388), and population subdivision (Fst) was (0.0427, 0.00395). The lower values for N. lugens revealed its higher movement compared to V. lineata, despite their separation by mountainous area. A total of 14 haplotypes were detected in V. lineata and 9 in N. lugens, with haplotype diversity (Hd) values of 0.7889 and 0.5977, with Hap1 showing the highest frequency, pest and its predator were suggested that Pesisir Selatan as the primary contributor to begin infestation from the same locality, The rice yield production data showed the lowest from Sijunjung in 2024 (38.56 (quintals/ha)), as it has closer geographical and genetic distances to the Pesisir Selatan, as well as shared the same variety of rice. This observation highlights the need for targeted and prioritized management strategies in that area. These findings provide new insights into the distribution and genetic structure of both species, contributing to the development of targeted management strategies aimed at increasing rice yields in the region.