The study assessed the impact of rice paddy water management practices and related environmental conditions that prevail in Niono, Mali, on the size of larval populations of Anopheles gambiae s.l., a major malaria vector. The longer the period of uninterrupted flooding, the greater was the larval population size. As the density of aquatic weeds increased, the size of the mosquito larval population declined, whereas the presence of rice plants enhanced the size of mosquito larval populations. Numbers of mosquito larvae initially increased as rice plant density rose, but then decreased marginally as densities reached their peak. These results confirm that water management plays a major role in the production of mosquito larvae. Nevertheless, comparison with studies conducted in other areas suggest that the impact of water management on mosquitoes varies regionally. In the Niono region, controlled irrigation and drainage should favour the reduction of Anopheles mosquito larval populations.

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