Learn about the pests that damage sugarcane and its control.
1. Sugarcane Top Borer, Scirpophaga Excerptalis (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae):
This insect is one of the most destructive pests of sugarcane in India and Pakistan. It is also distributed in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, China, Formosa, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand. Apart from sugarcane, it is also found on sarkanda (Saccharum munja), kahi (Saccharwn spontaneum) and some other grasses.
Young plants attacked by this pest show characteristic reddish streaks on the mid-ribs. They also show a number of shot holes in the leaves which ultimately cause dead-hearts. After cane formation the attacked plants show peculiar bunchy tops.
Damage is caused by caterpillars which are generally found in the top portion of a cane. When full-grown, a caterpillar is 25-30 mm long, creamy white and rather sluggish. The moths are pure white. Males are considerably smaller than females. A female measure 25-40 mm across the wings spread and carries a brownish or reddish tuft of silken hairs at the tip of its abdomen.
Life-Cycle:
This pest is active from March to November and passes the winter as a full-grown larva in cane tops. These larvae pupate in the second half of February and the moths emerge during March. The female moths lay eggs on the lower surface of the leaves at the rate of about 150, in clusters of 30-60 eggs.
These clusters are covered with a brown tuft of hairs and are quite prominent. Eggs hatch in 5-7 days and the young larvae bore into the mid-rib of a leaf, mining their way to the base. From there, they enter the spindle, feeding on the growing-point and the soft portion of the cane. They grow to maturity in five stages within 4-5 weeks.
When full-fed, a larva constructs a chamber with an emergence hole in the rind just above a node. It pupates inside the chamber and emerges as a moth within 7-9 days. The moths are commonly seen sitting on cane tops early in the morning. They become active at night when they mate and the females lay eggs.
The moths are short-lived; hardly live more than 4-5 days. Four to five generations are completed during a year. Full-grown caterpillars of the last generation, however, do not pupate. They hibernate in the cane tops throughout the winter in northern India.
The pest is parasitized in the egg stage by Telenomus beneficiens (Zehntner) (Scelionidae) in all the sugarcane growing areas of India. The parasitization is 3-5 per cent in North India and may reach as high as 90 per cent in Tamil Nadu.
Isotima Javensis Rohw. (Ichneumonidae) is a parasitoid found in North India and Myanmar, and it attacks the larvae and pupae of this pest. The degree of parasitization varies from 5-20 per cent in sub-tropical areas to 70 per cent in tropical areas. During 1960s it was introduced from Uttar Pradesh to Tamil Nadu where it has established and now controls the pest effectively.
The other parasitoids reported are Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Trichogrammatidae) and Telenomus dignoides Nixon (Scelionidae) on eggs; Goryphus sp., Xanthopimpla nursei Cameron and X. predator (Fabricius) (Ichneumonidae), Rliaconotus roslinensis Lai, R. scirpophagae Wilkinson, R. signipennis Wilkinson, Stenobracon deesae Cameron and S. nicevillei (Bingham) (Braconidae), Goniozus indicus Ashmead (Bethylidae) and a tachinid parasitoid, Sturmiopsis inferens Townsend (Tachinidae) on larvae.
Damage:
The first two broods of this pest attack young plants before the formation of canes. These plants are killed and are a total loss. In subsequent broods, the pest attacks the terminal portions of the canes, causing bunchy tops. Damage by the third and fourth broods may result in more than 25 per cent reduction in weight and a decrease in the quality of the juice. The loss in weight in different varieties may vary from 21 to 37 per cent and loss in sugar recovery from 0.2 to 4.1 units.
Prevention and Control:
(i) Collect and destroy moths and egg clusters.
(ii) Cut the attacked shoots at the ground level from April to June.
(iii) Since about one-third of the larvae remain in the underground portion of the stem, the sharp edge of a sickle should be inserted to kill them.
(iv) Cutting and destroying cane tops which harbour the over-wintering larvae before mid-February, also reduce the incidence of this pest.
(v) Release Trichogramma chilonis Ishii @ 50,000 per ha at 10 day interval from mid April to end June. Normally 8 releases are required.
(vi) Apply 25 kg of chlorantriniliprole 0.4GR or 30 kg of carbofuran 3G or phorate 10G per ha at the base of the shoots in the last week of June or first week of July only if the top borer damage exceeds 5 per cent level. Earth up slightly to check the granules from flowing with irrigation water and irrigate the crop immediately.
2. Sugarcane Early Shoot Borer, Chilo Infuscatellus Snellen (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae):
This is one of the very serious pests of sugarcane in India and Pakistan. It is also found in Afghanistan, Myanmar, Indonesia, Formosa and the Philippines. In Punjab, infestation occurs in serious form from April to June, i.e. before the rainy season. The central whorl of leaves in the attacked shoots dries up, forming a “dead-heart”. In addition to sugarcane, it feeds on maize, bajra (Pennisetum typhoides), sarkanda (Saccharum munja), kahi (S. spontaneum), baru (Sorghum halepense) and some other grasses.
Damage is caused by the caterpillars which measure 20-25 mm in length at maturity. They are dirty white and have five light- violet longitudinal stripes on the body. The moths have straw-coloured fore wings and whitish hind wings with apical light-buff areas. They measure 25-40 mm in wing expanse and are attracted to light at night.
Life-Cycle:
The pest is active from March to November and passes winter as a full-grown larva in the stubble. The larvae pupate sometime in February and emerge as moths during March. The moths are active at night and the females lay creamy white scale like eggs in clusters of 11-36 on the lower surface of leaves. On an average, a female moth lays 300-400 eggs which hatch in 4-5 days.
The larvae reach the plant base, bore into the shoot and feed there. They grow through five stages and complete their development in 3-4 weeks. Then each larva constructs a chamber for pupation in the cane and makes an exit from which it emerges as moth after 6-7 days. The moths live only for 2-4 days. The life-cycle is completed in 5-6 weeks and the pest breeds 4 or 5 times a year.
Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Trichogrammatidae) has given up to 50 per cent parasitization of eggs in Tamil Nadu. The parasitoid, Telenomus alecto Crawford (Scelionidae) was introduced from Columbia and releases were made in the Punjab and at Plassey (West Bengal). It failed to establish in the Punjab and parasitization increased from 2 -6 per cent in 1967 to 53 per cent in 1968 in Plassey area.
The other egg parasitoids associated with this borer are, Trichogramma exiguum Pinto & Platner, T. intermedium How and Trichogrammatoidea nana (Zehntner) (Trichogrammatidae), Telenomus beneficiens (Zehntner) and T. dignoides Nixon (Scelionidae).
The parasitoids associated with larvae are Campyloneurus mutator Fabricius, Apanteles flavipes (Cameron), Stenobracon sp. (Braconidae), Goniozus indicus Ashmead and G. rephoterycis Kurian (Bethylidae). The tachinid, Sturmiopis inferens Townsend and S. setniberbis Bezzi (Tachinidae) also parasitize the larvae of this pest.
The only parasitoid associated with pupae is Tetrastichus ayyari Rohw. (Eulophidae)
Damage:
The plants, which are attacked by this pest, produce dead hearts from April to June, and completely dry up. A loss of 10-20 per cent of young shoots is not uncommon during this period and in years of serious infestation; it may be as high as 70 per cent.
After the formation of canes, the attack does not produce dead-hearts and the damage is confined to a few internodes only. Even then, there is considerable reduction in cane yield and sugar content. At harvest, losses of 22-33 per cent in yield, 12 per cent in sugar recovery, 2 per cent in commercial cane sugar (CCS) and 27 per cent in jaggery have been estimated.
Prevention and Control:
(i) To control the early shoot borer, plant the crop early, i.e., before the middle of March.
(ii) Release Trichogramma chilonis Ishii @ 50,000 per ha from mid-April to end-June at 10 days interval. Normally 8 releases are required.
(iii) Apply 25 kg granules of fipronil 0.3G per ha, before the cane sets are covered with earth by planking.
(iv) Apply 25 kg granules of cartap hydrochloride 4G or 25 kg of fipronil 0.3G mixed in 50 kg sand or 110 ml of imidacloprid 17.8SL or 5 litres of chlorpyriphos 20EC in 1000 litres of water per ha with sprinkling can along the rows at post-germination stage (about 45 days after planting). Earth up slightly and follow up with light irrigation. The economic threshold level is 15 per cent incidence.
3. Stalk Norer, Chilo Auricilius Dudgeon (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae):
The stalk-borer, commonly known as the Tarai borer, is perhaps the most destructive pest of sugarcane in northern India. In addition, it feeds on paddy, wheat, oats and baru (Sorghum halepense). It is widespread in Bihar, the Tarai areas of Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana and Punjab. A large-scale movement of sugarcane within and between the States has helped to spread this pest.
It causes damage in the larval stage by feeding inside the stem. The full-grown caterpillar is 25-30 mm long, with a light bluish pink body and has a dark brown head and five longitudinal violet dorsal stripes. The moth is straw-coloured and the female has a wing expanse of 22-30 mm and the male has a wing-span of 16-25 mm. The fore wings have golden spots and the hind wings are silvery-white.
Life-Cycle:
The pest is found practically throughout the year but breeds from March to October. The winter months are passed as full-grown larvae in canes or stubble. They pupate sometimes during January and emerge as moths at the beginning of February. Eggs are laid in leafsheaths or on the underside of leaves of the late water-shoots and early ratoon sprouts.
A female may lay 200- 300 scale-like overlapping eggs in clusters of 60-70. The young larvae, measuring about 1 mm, emerge from these eggs in about a week. They feed on leafsheaths or on mid ribs for the next week or so and then bore into stalks by making circular holes in the rind.
Dead-hearts are produced in young plants but after cane formation, the attack is not easily discernible from a distance. The larvae develop through 5 stages and are full-grown in 3-6 weeks. Then the mature larva constructs a chamber with an exit and begins pupation.
Moths emerge in about one week and the life-cycle is completed in 5-9 weeks. In all, 5 or 6 over-lapping generations are completed in a year. The winter life-cycle is rather prolonged and is completed in 17-19 weeks, out of which 14-16 weeks are spent in the larval stage and 2-3 in the pupal stage.
Sturmiopsis inferens Townsend (Tachinidae) is found in Haryana and its presence was also reported from Uttar Pradesh. The incidence of parasitoids varies from 21 to 40 per cent. Apanteles flavipes (Cameron) (Braconidae) and Centeterus alternecoloratus Chushman are associated with larvae and pupae of this pest, respectively.
Damage:
In spring, when the pest first appears on the ratoon crop, the late “water-shoots” play an important role in its multiplication. By the time the canes are formed in August-September, 75 per cent of them may be infested, the heavily manured fields and soft varieties suffering more. The lodged crop and the waterlogged fields are also more severely infested.
The caterpillars have the habit of boring into one internode after another and moving from plant to plant, thus infesting up to 90 per cent of the canes in certain fields. According to one estimate, this pest causes, on an average, 16 per cent reduction in cane yield and a loss of 2.16 units in sugar recovery.
Prevention and Control:
(i) Grow resistant varieties in the area where the stalk borer is a serious pest.
(ii) Do not use the cane-seed from the infested field.
(iii) Spread of the pest to uninfested areas may be prevented by restricting the movement of infested canes.
(iv) The pest population can be suppressed by burning the trash in the fields after harvest and by removing and destroying the water-shoots over large areas during February-March. This practice also induces tillering and is useful.
(v) Do not ratoon a heavily infested crop; plough up the affected fields, collect the stumps and destroy them.
(vi) At harvest, do not leave the water-shoots in the field.
(vii) Release Trichogramma chilonis Ishii @ 50,000 per ha from July to October at 10 days interval. Normally 10-12 releases are required.
4. Sugarcane Root Borer, Emmalocera Depressella Swinhoe (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae):
This is a very serious pest of sugarcane in eastern India but in Pakistan, Haryana and Punjab it is of minor importance. Apart from sugarcane, it feeds on sarkanda (Saccharum munja), barn (Sorghum halepense), Napier grass, etc. Damage is caused by the caterpillars which feed on the underground portions of plants, resulting in drying up of the central whorl of leaves. A full-grown caterpillar measures about 30 mm in length, creamy white with yellowish-brown head and a rather wrinkled body. The moths are pale yellow-brown and have white hind wings. The female has a wing expanse of 30-35 mm.
Life-Cycle:
The root borer is active from April to October and passes winter as full-grown larva within the stubble. It pupates sometimes in March and emerges as a moth within 2-3 weeks. The moth lives for 5-7 days. A female lays, on an average, 277-355 scale-like, creamy-white eggs singly on the leaves, the stem or on the ground.
The eggs hatch in 5-8 days and the young larvae bore into the stem below the soil surface. As they feed, they cut right across the stem, reaching the adjoining tillers. Central leaves of the attacked plants dry up and form dead-hearts before the cane- forming stage. These dead-hearts are not easily pulled out.
The larvae complete their development through five stages in about four weeks. When full-grown, they pupate inside the canes after making emergence holes just above the soil surface. The pupal stages last 9-14 days and moths emerge from these holes. The life-cycle is completed in 6-7 weeks. During a year, four generations are completed and the caterpillars of the fifth generation hibernate in winter.
In nature, this pest is attacked by Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Trichogrammatidae), Apanteles flavipes (Cameron) and Stenobracon sp. (Braconidae).
Damage:
This pest is primarily destructive to young plants and the attack is particularly severe from April to June. Plants attacked after the formation of canes are not killed, although their weight and sugar content are reduced. At harvest, a decrease in yield upto 10 per cent and reduction of sucrose in juice by about 0.3 units have been reported.
Prevention and Control:
(i) The pest can be suppressed by ploughing up and burning the stubble in the fields not kept for ratooning.
(ii) The canes should be harvested below the soil surface in order to kill the caterpillars.
(iii) Chemical control is not feasible.
(iv) Staple 40 Tricho-cards (5.0 cm x 2.5 cm hard paper piece glued with 7 days old eggs of laboratory host, Corcyra cephalonica parasitized by Trichogramma chilonis) to the under-sides of sugarcane leaves from July to October at 10 days intervals. Each card should have approximately 500 parasitized eggs and be spread uniformly at 100 spots per ha. Normally, 10-12 releases are required.
5. Internode Borer, Chilo Sacchariphagus Indicus (Kapur) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae):
The insect is found throughout India and usually occurs on sugarcane late in its growing phase during June to December. It is a serious pest in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh. The moth is pale brown with white hind legs and the larva has a white body with dark spots and a brown head.
Life-Cycle:
The females lay white scale-like eggs in masses of 2-60 near the midrib of the leaves, on leaf sheaths and on stems. A maximum of 400 eggs are laid by a female. The incubation period is 5-6 days. The larva bores at the nodal region and enters the stem. The larva becomes full grown in 37-53 days and pupates in the leaf sheath. The pupal period lasts for 8-10 days and the adults survive for 3-4 days. The total life-cycle occupies 50-70 days and there are six broods of the insect in a year.
Damage:
The caterpillar bores into the canes near the nodes, the entry holes being plugged with excreta. A larva may attack 1-3 internodes and mostly the attack is seen in the top five internodes. Its feeding causes the tissues turn red. The loss to cane is more to its tonnage than to its quality. However, juice quality is affected if more than 10 per cent of the cane is affected.
6. Green Borer, Raphimetopus Ablutellus Zeller (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae):
The green borer is a regular pest of sugarcane in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab. In certain years, it becomes quite a serious pest. The insect is named after the caterpillar which is uniformly copper green and has a characteristic greyish prothoracic shield. The adult moths have ocherous fore wings and white hind wings.
Life-Cycle:
The pest is active in the sugarcane fields from February to June only and the rest of the year, it lives as a hibernating larva in the stubble. The moths appear from the pupae towards the end of February or early March. After mating, the females lay, on an average, 37 oval-shaped eggs, in small clusters, scattered in cracks and crevices in the soil or among loose soil particles. The dull white eggs are seen just below the surface of the ground, near the host plants.
The eggs hatch in 7-8 days in April. On emergence, the larvae bore into the soft cane shoots and feed inside. They undergo five moultings in 20-25 days during April and May. The total life- cycle is completed in 35-40 days. They pupate in the cane, leaving an exit hole and emerge as moths in about 7 days. Thus, the total life-cycle is completed in 35-40 days. There are three generations in a year; the larvae of the last generation undergo diapause for many months.
The larvae are parasitized by Stenobracon deesae Cameron (Braconidae) which results in some natural control. The timely removal and burning of stubble further help to suppress this pest.
Damage:
The damage by this borer is generally found in association with other shoot borers, e.g., Chilo infuscatellus, Sesamia sp. and Emmalocera depressella, during the summer months. The larvae attack the growing point of the plants, causing dead-hearts. In Uttar Pradesh, it has been found to kill 24-76 per cent of the mother shoots from April to June.
Prevention and Control:
Rake 35 kg of carbaryl 10 per cent dust per ha into the soil at the time of planting of sugarcane.
7. Gurdaspur Borer, Acigona Steniellus (Hampson) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae):
The Gurdaspur borer was considered the most destructive pest of sugarcane in Pakistan and India. It had also been recorded in Vietnam. It was noticed for the first time in District Sialkot in 1923 and was subsequently noticed as a pest at Gurdaspur (Punjab) in 1925.
Later, it spread to newer sugarcane areas in Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and the northern districts of Rajasthan. In the fifties and sixties it was considered to be the most destructive pest of sugarcane in northern India. Its importance as a pest started declining in the late sixties.
The exact causes of its natural population decline are not known, although a multiple of factors are considered to have contributed to it, namely:
(i) removal and destruction of infested canes through campaigns in the sugar factory areas during July-September,
(ii) introduction of new varieties, viz., COJ 46 and COJ 64, replacing the susceptible variety CO 312, and
(iii) activity of natural enemies like larval parasite, Stenobracon nicevillei (Bingham) (Braconidae) and the egg parasite, Trichogramma spp. (Trichogrammatidae).
A full-grown caterpillar is 30-35 mm long, creamy white, with orange brown head. There are four prominent longitudinal violet stripes on the body. The moth is dull brown, 25-45 mm across the spread wings and has a number of dark spots along the outer margins of the fore wings. The hind wings are white.
Life-Cycle:
The pest is active from July to October and passes the winter and the early part of summer as a full-grown larva in sugarcane stubble. The larvae pupate sometimes in June and start emerging as moths in the end of June or in the first week of July. The moths are nocturnal.
A female lays 90-300 flattened scale-like eggs in clusters of 3-22. The eggs are laid on the upper surface of the leaves along the mid-rib and they hatch in 4-9 days. In 4 or 5 hours, the young larvae 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. After about 7-10 days, when the cane top has dried up, the larvae (in the third stage) come out and enter the adjoining canes single or in twos. They may again come out of these canes and attack more plants.
The larvae grow through five stages and are full-fed in 19-27 days. When mature, they make exit holes and pupate inside. The pupal stage lasts 6-12 days and, on emergence, the moths live for 4-5 days. The pest pupates in stubble and the life- cycle is completed in 5-6 weeks.
It breeds two or three times in a year. In the beginning of September, the full-grown caterpillars start migration from the upper part by coming out and reentering the cane near the base. They enter the stubble and hibernate there till June of the next year.
Damage:
In the initial stages, the larvae feed gregariously in the top porton of the canes by making spiral galleries thus killing the plants. At about the time the larvae leave these canes and move on to new ones, the dried cane tops can be spotted in a field. Later on, large patches of dried canes appear.
The pest destroys 20-25 per cent of the crop. In case of severe infestation, the loss may be as high as 70-75 per cent and sugar recovery from the affected crop is also greatly reduced. A loss of 17 per cent in total solids, 29 per cent in sucrose and an increase of 84 per cent in glucose has been reported due to borer infestation.
Prevention and Control:
(i) Rogue out the canes showing withered tops in the afternoon every week from June to September. The tops should be cut off well below the point of attack.
(ii) Do not ratoon a heavily affected crop.
(iii) Plough up the fields not meant for ratooning and destroy the stubble before June.
(iv) Chemical control is not feasible.
8. Plassey Borer, Chilo Tumidicostalis Hampson (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae):
Plassey borer is a sporadic pest of sugarcane in many areas of India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Thailand. The adults are slender body moths, measuring 16.28±4.32 mm from the head to the tip of forewing. The general color of forewings is brown to pale brown with some darker marking. Hind wings are white in female and dirty white to light brown in male. The larva is creamy white with big dark spots on the body and a dark brown head.
Life-Cycle:
The adult is nocturnal in habit and mating occurs at dusk. The longevity of adult is about 5 to 7 days. Eggs are laid in batches on both sides of leaf blades. Individual egg is oval- shaped, flat and overlaps each other. Larvae prefer to feed on time before pupation. The larval period is 26.4 days. The pupal period is 7.5 days. The total life-cycle is completed in 43 days.
Damage:
The central whorl of the leaves dries up in the damaged plant. Newly hatched larvae are gregarious and bore in the top three to five internodes. After third or fourth stage, they migrate to new canes or bore in the lower internodes of the same cane.
9. Termites, Odontotermes Obesus (Rambur) and Microtermes Obesi Holmgren (Isoptera: Termitidae):
The termites enter planted setts from the cut ends and make them partly or wholly hollowed inside, filled with mud galleries. The buds are destroyed leading to poor germination. They also occasionally attack roots, hollow the interior and ascend upwards into the stalk that is filled with mud galleries. The affected plants show drying of leaves and death of plants.
Prevention and Control:
(i) Use well rotton manure only.
(ii) Remove the stubble and debris of the previous crop from the field.
(iii) Application of well rotton neem cake manures @ 60 cartloads/ha reduces the population of termites.
(iv) Chemical control measures are same as in case of early shoot borer.
10. White Grub, Holotrichia Consanguinea Blanchard (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae):
The white grub is prevalent in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala.
Life-Cycle:
The adults remain hidden up to one meter deep in soil during winter and emerge out with rains in May-June. Up to 6 eggs are laid by a female in soil of cane fields to a depth of 15 cm. Egg period lasts 7-10 days. The larva feeds for some time on grass roots and then moves to the cane roots and feeds. The grub becomes fully fed in 8 to 10 weeks and pupates deep in soil at depths of 30-150 cm. The pupal stage lasts up to one month. The adults are active at night. There is only one generation in a year.
Damage:
As a result of grubs feeding on roots and underground stems, the first symptom is a yellowing (chlorosis) of the leaves. This is usually followed by stunted growth, lodging, plant uprooting and death. In heavily infested areas the crop starts drying up and large-scale withering of the crop is observed. The attack is severe in light sandy soils.
11. Sugarcane Mite, Oligonychus Indicus (Hirst) (Acari: Tetranychidae):
About a dozen species of mites infest the sugarcane crop in the world. Of these only four occur in India and Pakistan, viz. Oligonychus indicus and Schizotetraychus andropognii (Acari: Tetranychidae), Tarsonemus spinipes (Acari: Tarsonemidae) and an unidentified species of eriophid mite.
The red leaf mite, O. indicus, is the most abundant and is a minor pest of sugarcane in Punjab and Haryana and other adjoining States. Besides sugarcane, it infests baru (Sorghum halepense), kahi (Saccharum spontaneum) jowar (Sorghum vulgare) and hajra or pearlmillet (Pennisetum typhoides)
Both the nymphs and adults cause damage by sucking cell-sap from the undersurface of the leaves. The mites are microscopic and their damage is characterized by red streaks and webbings on the undersurface of leaves.
Life-Cycle:
This mite remains active on baru throughout the year and migrates to sugarcane in April becoming serious in June. A female mite spins a web on the underside of a leaf in which it lays 35-69 dirty-white spherical eggs during its average life-span of 12-33 days. The eggs hatch in 3-4 days and the resulting nymphs develop within the webs by feeding on the leaf.
In summer, the male nymphs grow to maturity through three stages completing their development in 2-3 weeks. The females are full-fed in 3-5 weeks. The nymphal development is considerably slowed down in the winter, the duration being 9-23 days in males and 16-24 days in the females. The life cycle of the mite during summer is completed in 3-6 weeks and the pest breeds three times in a year.
Damage:
The mite feeds by sucking plant sap with its stylets. The males feed rarely and the damage is done mainly by the females and nymphs. As a result of their feeding, the leaves turn red and gradually dry up. Sugarcane varieties with soft leaves are attacked more readily and damage is noticed to the greater extent during the pre-monsoon period.
Prevention and Control:
(i) The pest can be suppressed by the destruction of baru (Sorghum helepens) grass from the bunds around sugarcane fields.
(ii) Spray the crop with 1.0 litre of malathion 50EC or 875 ml 35EC in 250 litres of water per ha.