Insect Pests Management

in Sugarcane
 INTRODUCTION
 Sugarcane is the main source of sugar in India

 Sugarcane area in India is 5.0 m ha with average

productivity of 73.5 t/ha

 In Punjab sugarcane area 96 thousand ha with average

productivity of 83.0 t/ha

 Average rate of recovery in India is less than 10 per

cent but in Java, Hawaii and Australia recovery rate is
14-16 per cent

 Various constraints (weather, lodging, obsolete

machinery) identified for low production and low
sugar recovery in the region.
 Insect Pests of Sugarcane

Name Scientific Name Family Order

Early shoot borer Chilo infuscatellus Pyralidae Lepidoptera

Top borer Scirpophaga excerptalis Crambidae Lepidoptera

Stalk borer Chilo auricilius Crambidae Lepidoptera

Termite Odontotermes obesus Termitidae Isoptera

Pyrilla Pyrilla perpusilla Lophopidae Hemiptera

Black bug Cavelerius excavatus Lygaeidae Hemiptera

Whitefly Aleurolobus barodensis Aleyrodidae Hemiptera

Mite Oligonychus indicus Tetranychidae Acari

1. Root borer: Polyocha depressella = Emmalocera depressella (Swinhoe)
Lepidoptera : Pyralidae)

Distribution: This is very serious pest of

sugarcane in Eastern India but in Pakistan,
Haryana and Punjab it is of minor
importance
Hosts Range: Also feed on Sarkanda, baru,
sorghum, napier grass etc.
Life cycle:
1.Eggs: 277 to 355 scale like creamy white
eggs singly on the leaves, the stem or on the
ground .Eggs hatch in 5-8 days
2. Larvae: young larvae bore into the stem
below the soil surface .
Larva has 5 stages (instars) in about 4
weeks.
3. Pupa: When full grown- pupate inside the
canes and adults emerges after making
emergence holes just above the soil surface.
4. Life cycle completed in 6-7 weeks and
4gen/years.
5. Hibernate in stubble as full grown larvae
Nature of damage of Root borer Caterpillars: creamy white
• Caterpillar attack the young crop 2-4 with yellowish brown head,
months old in the months of April to June body wrinkled. Body tapering
• The young larvae bore into the stem posteriorly.
below the soil surface Adults: are pale yellowish
•It attack the underground portion of stem brown. Forewing pale or
and makes semi-circular tunnel. Ultimately yellowish brown with
the central spindle of attacked shoot wither rounded apices. Hind-wing
and form dad-heart which cannot be whitish.
easily pulled out.
• Plants after cane formation are not killed
although their weight and sugar content
are reduced

Management: Chemical control is not possible

• Pest can be suppressed by ploughing and burning stubble
• canes should be harvested below the soil surface to kill the larvae
 2. Early Shoot Borer: Chilo infuscatellus snellen
(Lepidoptera : Crambidae)
Importance: Very serious pest of sugarcane
Distribution: India and Pakistan wherever sugar is grown
Hosts: Maize, bajra, sarkanda, kahi, baru and some other grasses
Lifecycle
• Eggs: Females lays 300-400 creamy white scaly eggs in clusters
of 11-36 on the lower surface of leaves. Eggs hatch in 4-5 days
• Larvae: Dirty white or light yellow with dark brown head. Five
pinkish brown stripes present on the body. Larvae reach the plant
base, bore into the shoot and feed there Five instars and full
grown in 3-4 weeks. Attacked plants produce dead hearts from
April-June, and completely dry up
• Pupa: Larvae make a chamber for pupation and make a exit
hole in the stem and blocks the opening with silken discs. Pupal
period – 6 to 7 days
• Adult- Light straw to brownish grey, fore-wing brownish grey with
a row of white dots along its outer margin. Hind wing white. 2 to 4
days
• Total life cycle- 5 to 6 weeks
 Life stages of Early Shoot Borer

Egg mass (4-5 days) Larva (22-25 days)

Pupa (12-15 days) Adult (15-18 )days Contd...

 Early Shoot Borer: Chilo infuscatellus snellen
(Lepidoptera : Crambidae)
Activity and Symptoms

❖ Active during April-June

❖ Attacks seedling stage of the

crop

❖ Dead hearts are produced

which can be easily pulled out,
and emits foul smell

❖ Attack is more in late planted

crop
ESB Attacked Plant
 Management of Early Shoot Borer

• Early planting escapes the early shoot borer

incidence. Plant the crop by mid March
• Remove the stubbles from field
• Earth up and follow with light irrigation
• Staple 40 Tricho cards (5cm x 2.5 cm) at 40
Trichogramma chilonis
places per acre in April- June. 9 releases are
required at 10 days interval (20,000
parasitized eggs of Coceyra cephalonica
per acre). Each card must have ~500
parasitized eggs

Trichogramma chilonis
parasitized egg
 Management of Early Shoot Borer

❖ Apply 10 kg Regent 0.3G (fipronil) or

per acre over seed sets in furrows
or
Chlorpyriphos
❖ Spray 150 ml Coragen 18.5 SC
(chlorantraniliprole) or 150 gm Takumi
(flubendiamide) @ 150 gm or 2 litres of
Durmet/ Classic/ Dursban/ Coragen
Markpyriphos 20EC (chlorpyriphos) in
400 L of water per acre (about 45 days
after planting)

Regent
 3. Top Shoot Borer: Scirpophaga excerptalis ((Walker)
Pyraustidae: Lepidopetra

Importance: Most destructive pest

Distribution: India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Sri lanka, China,
Formosa, Japan, Phillipines and Thailand
Hosts: Sarkanda, kahi and other grasses
Life cycle
• Egg: Eggs are laid on the lower surface of top leaves in
clusters particularly near midribs. The clusters are covered with
buff coloured hairs.Total eggs- 150 in cluster covered by
orange- yellow tuft of hairs. Eggs hatch in 5-7 days
• Larvae: Creamy white 18-22 mm long. Body of larvae tapers
anteriorly. Dorsal blood vessel is visible. young larvae bore into
mid rib of leaf mining their way to base of leaf. Enter the spindle
and feed on growing tip and soft portion of cane. Fully mature
in 4-5 weeks (5 instars)
• Construct a chamber and emergence hole just above a node
• Pupation: It pupates inside the chamber in the stem. Pupal
stage for 7-9 days
• Adults: White Coloured moth (with a buff-orange coloured
anal tuft of hairs in female) short lived- 4 to 5 days
 Life stages of Top Borer

Egg mass (4-6 days) Larva (35-40 days)

Pupa (16-21 days) Adult (15-20 days) Contd...

 Top Borer-Symptoms of damage

Activity and Symptoms

❖ Active from March–November
(July- August)
❖ Shot holes in leaves, whitish
streak in midrib, becomes red
later on, dead heart formed, Shoot hole in leaves

after cane formation bunchy

top symptoms appear
❖ 2nd brood appears in May-
June
❖ 3rd brood appears in July -
August
Bunchy top
 Management of Top Borer

❖ Cut the attacked shoots in

April-June
• Collect and destroy moths and
egg cluster
• Removal of bunchy tops
❖ Apply if there is >5% Carbofuran
incidence
❖ Apply Carbofuran 3G @ 12
Kg /acre or 10 kg Ferterra 0.4
G in last week June–first
week July

Ferterra
 Management of Top Borer

•Use Tricho-cards having 20,000 eggs

of Corcyra cephalonica parasitized by
Trichogramma japonicum per acre at 10
days interval from mid- April to end
June. Staple 40 Tricho cards (5cm x 2.5
cm) at 40 places per acre in April-June.
9 releases are required at 10 days
interval. Each card must have ~500
parasitized eggs Trichogramma Japonicum
 4. Gurdaspur Borer Acigona steniella (Hmpsn.) = Bissetia steniellus
Crambidae: Lepidoptera

Distribution: most destructive pest of

sugarcane in India and Pakistan
• In fifties and sixties it was most
destructive pest
• It was first recorded in Sialkot (1923)
and noticed as pest in Gurdaspur (1925)
• Later spread to Punjab, Haryana,
Western U.P., Rajasthan
Hosts: no other host recorded
Larvae: Creamy white with orange head
and 4 longitudinal violet stripes along the
addoman, lateral stripes are broader and
prominent.
Adult: Dull brown, fore-wing with several
dark spots along the outer margin.
Hindwing white.
Seasonal history:
• Pest is active from July- October and passes the winter as larvae in sugarcane
stubble
• No. of generations: 2 to 3 per year
• In the beginning of September, the full grown caterpillar start migration from
upper part by coming out and re-entering the canes near the base
Nature of damage and symptoms:
• Newly hatched larvae (4-5 hr old) enter the top portion of a cane through a
single hole just above a node
• There, they feed gregariously by making spiral galleries which run upwards
• Causes withering of central leaves notably 5th leaf followed by cane top dries up
with in 7-10 days, sometime plant is killed
• 3rd instar come out and enter the adjoining cane singly or in two’s
• Sugar recovery from crop is greatly reduced
Management:
• Rogue out the canes showing withered tops in the afternoon every week from
July to September and destroy
• Do not ratoon heavily affected crop
• Plough up the fields not meant for ratooning and destroy the stubble before
June
• Chemical control is not feasible
 5. Stalk borer Chilo auricillius
Crambidae, Lepidoptera
Importance: most destructive pest in Northern India
Distribution: serious pest in northern India .It is widespread in
Bihar, Tarai areas of U.P. and Punjab
Hosts: Sugarcane, paddy, wheat, oats and baru
Life history:
• Moths emerges in the beginning of February
• Eggs: Female lays eggs in leaf sheath or on underside of
leaves
• Female may lay 200-300 scale like overlapping eggs in clusters
of 60-70 eggs
• Eggs hatch with in a week
• Larvae: Closely resembles C infuscatellus in body and shape
and number of stripes, Full grown larvae is light bluish pink with
brown head. Body with 5 violet stripes. 5 larval instars in 3-6
weeks
• Full grown larvae construct a chamber with an exit for pupation
• Pupation period: 1 week
Adult: Fore-wing straw coloured with metallic spots, golden
fringe at margin, hind wing silvery white.
• Total life cycle: 5-9 weeks
 Life stages of Stalk Borer

Egg mass (4-7 days) Larva (22-30 days)

Pupa (15-20 days) Adult (16-22 days) Contd...

 Stalk borer
Activity and Symptoms

❖ Active throughout the year (peak

activity from October-November)

❖ No outward symptoms of stalk borer

on the cane Exit hole in cane

❖ Entrance or exit holes can be seen

only after stripping

❖ Multiple holes present in one

internode
Contd... Larva of Stalk borer
 Management of Stalk Borer

❖ Do not use seed from infested field

❖ Do not ratoon heavily infested field

❖ Remove water shoots

Trichogramma chilonis
❖ Staple 40 Tricho cards (5cm x 2.5
cm) at 40 places per acre in July-
October. 10 releases are required
at 10 days interval. Each card
must have ~500 parasitized eggs
Trichogramma chilonis
parasitized egg
 Pyrilla

Activity and Symptoms

❖ Active twice in an year, April-May

and August -September

❖ Sucks the sap from leaves. Leaves

Pyrilla
turn pale yellow

❖ Excrete honeydew on which sooty

mould fungus develops

Contd... Sooty mould on leaves

 Life stages of Pyrilla

Egg mass (7-12 days) Nymph (25-35 days)

Adult (30-40 days) Contd...

 Management of Pyrilla
❖ Detrash the leaves from August onward
reduce the population of pyrilla

❖ Removal and destruction of the white

colored puffy pyrilla egg mass

❖ Cane trash should be completely removed Fulgoraecia melanoleuca parasitoild

on nymph of Pyrilla
from the field after harvesting

❖ Use of ecto-parasitiod Fulgoraecia

melanoleuca larvae for control of pyrilla

❖ Use Chlorpyriphos 20 EC @ 600 ml/acre

in 400 litre of water Fulgoraecia melanoleuca eggs and
cocoon, an ecto-parasitoild of Pyrilla
 Black bug

Activity and Symptoms

❖ Active during April-June

❖ Crop looks pale yellow, nymphs

and adults suck sap from leaf
sheath Black bug

Black bug
❖ Brown spots appear on leaves

❖ Black bug incidence is heavy in

Ratoon fields

Pale yellow appearance of leaves

 Management of Black bug

❖ Use of recommend dose of

fertilizer

❖ Burn trash and crop residues

after harvest
Recommend dose of
fertilizer
❖ Spray Chlorpyriphos 20 EC @
350 ml/ac in 400 L water

❖ Spray directed towards leaf whorl

Chlorpyriphos
 Mite (jU)

Activity and Symptoms

❖ Active during April-June

❖ Feeds on underside of leaves

under a fine web Webs on sugarcane leaves

❖ The leaves turn red and later

appear to be burnt

Turn red and burnt appearance

 Life stages of Mite

Eggs ( 3-5 days) Nymph ( 8-11 days)

Adult ( 10-15 days) Contd...

 Management of Mite

❖ Remove the infested leaves at early

stages

❖ Use of recommended fertilizer

❖ Remove the weeds, which serve as Recommend dose of

fertilizer
alternative hosts to prevent
proliferation and spread

Remove the weeds

 Termite
Activity and Symptoms

❖ Active during April-June

❖ Destroys germinating buds

❖ Attack results in drying of shoots Termite attacked shoot

❖ In grown up cane whole of inner

portion eaten up and cane is filled
with soil

Contd... Termite Termite Attacked mature cane

 Life stages of Termite

Eggs (3-5 days) Nymph (8-12 days)

Adult (25-30 days) Contd...

 Management of Termite

❖ Apply well rotten FYM

❖ Remove stubbles and debris

❖ Spray, Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC

Apply the insecticide before
@ 200 ml in 400 L of water on covering the sets

setts at the time of planting.

❖ Imidagold 17.8 SL @ 45 ml/ac in
400 L of water at 45 days after
planting

Imidaclopride Chlorantrailiprole