Sugarcane twenty-first to twenty-second week practices

Internode Borer:

 

Symptoms:

• Larvae are white with a black head which later become creamy in color Body bearing stout hairs in each section of the body lour with prominent brown spots. Adult moths are yellowish or straw coloured with thin brown lines along the length of the forewings Hindwings in females are white but slightly darker in males.
• The neonate larva feeds on the lingular region and inner side of leaf sheath by scraping the epidermis for seven to eight days. Young larva also bores into the spindle region or the topmost formative internodes below the meristem egesting out fresh frass from the bore hole while scooping the tender surface of the shoot below the leaf sheath.

Management:

Cultural control: 

Grow resistant varieties like-CO 975, CO 7304 and COJ 46. Recommended dose of nitrogen should be applied. Proper water management to avoid lodging.

Mechanical Control: 

Detrashing of the crop at 5^th, 7^th and 9^th month helps in minimizing the pest population. Install pheromone traps @ 3-5 in Nos. /acre for surveillance and monitoring, change the septa/lure once in 45 days. 

Biological Control: 

Release of Trichogramma chilonis @ 1.5 cc/ acre (1cc-20,000 eggs) at fortnightly intervals starting from 4 ^th of sowing and until month before harvesting. 

Chemical Control:

Chlorpyrifos 20% EC @ 500-600ml OR Monocrotophos 36% SL@ 750 ml dissolve in 250-300 liters of water/acre.