Yes, they meant literal drowning of bugs when the field is flooded with water, which is one of the stages of growing rice. Bigger the area flooded at once, lowe

Yes, they meant literal drowning of bugs when the field is flooded with water, which is one of the stages of growing rice. Bigger the area flooded at once, lower the chance for the average bug to escape. Fractal pattern arises as a trade-off because water supply is limited - if it wasn't for that they would probably just flood ALL the fields at once.