IPM for Sustainable Sugarcane

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IPM for Sustainable Sugarcane Production in
Florida
Gregg Nuessly Everglades REC-IFAS Belle Glade
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440,000 acres
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IPM of Florida Sugarcane Insect Pests
Grouped by Plant Damage Roots, Seed Pieces,
Tillers Stalks Foliage
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Insect Pests of Sugarcane Roots, Seed Pieces,
Shoots
Sugarcane grub - root feeder Corn wireworm -
root, shoot feeder Lesser cornstalk borer
(LCB) - shoot feeder
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Sugarcane grub Root feeding causes - reduced
vigor - lodging in storms - stool
dislodging during harvest
Larva
Adult
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Corn wireworm Shoot and seed piece feeding
causes - dead heart stand loss
Larva
Adult
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Lesser cornstalk borer Shoot feeding causes -
dead heart stand loss
Larvae
Adults
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Lesser cornstalk borer damage
Rows of holes
Feeding tube
Dead shoots
New shoot
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IPM for Pests of Roots, Seed Pieces and Shoots
Cultural Control - Disking cultivating
- kills and exposes them to natural
enemies - Flooding and rotation (Rice)
- soil type, season duration
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IPM for Pests of Roots, Seed Pieces and Shoots
Cultural Control - Weed control in fallow
fields reduces Summer egg deposits by
wireworm adults
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IPM for Pests of Roots, Seed Pieces and Shoots
Chemical Control - At plant treatment for grubs
and wireworms directed into furrows
when flooding or rice rotation is not
possible - Post emergence for LCB
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Insect Pests of Sugarcane Stalks
Sugarcane borer - leaves, mid to upper
stalks West Indian sugarcane weevil - lower
stalks
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Sugarcane borer
Stalk feeding causes - breaking, microbial rot of
stalk, reduced yield
Larva
Adult
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West Indian sugarcane weevil
Stalk feeding causes broken stalks, microbial rot
of stalks, increased rat damage, yield loss
Larva
Adult
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West Indian sugarcane weevil damage
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IPM for Pests of Stalks
Biological control - Cotesia flavipes,
parasitoid of sugarcane borer released in
1960s - Research by Dr. David Hall, U.S.Sugar
Corp., led to culture and mass production of
wasps
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Biological control of sugarcane borer
Cotesia flavipes
Adult
Larvae
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IPM for Pests of Stalks
Economic threshold used to initiate
treatments - Fields scouted for damage -
Sugarcane borer larvae examined for
parasitism - Cotesia wasps released in fields
as needed to augment natural levels of
parasitism
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IPM for Pests of Stalks
Host plant resistance - Breeding programs
(public and private) select for clones
resistant to insects and diseases - Some
clones much more susceptible to stalk pests
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IPM for Pests of Stalks
Chemical control - Insecticides applied by
air when late season damage is above threshold -
Recent registration of selective material
provides alternative that preserves natural enemy
complex
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Insect Pests of Sugarcane Foliage
Sucking insect pests - Yellow sugarcane aphid
- White sugarcane aphid - Sugarcane lace
bug Chewing insect pests - Armyworms -
Cutworms
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Yellow sugarcane aphid
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Yellow sugarcane aphid
Late season
Early season
Prolonged feeding leads to reduced stalk diameter
and yield loss
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Yield loss from yellow sugarcane aphid
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White sugarcane aphid
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White sugarcane aphid
Honeydew deposits and sooty mold fungus, but no
losses
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Sugarcane lace bug
Leaf feeding results in yellow and red
discoloration, large populations can lead to
premature leaf death
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IPM for Pests of Foliage
Natural biological control agents often keep
populations below damage threshold and respond
to outbreaks - Ants (incl. red imported
fire ants), earwigs, beetles, flower flies
and spiders
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Aphid predators Doru taeniatum Diomus terminatus
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Aphid predators
Olla v-nigrum
Coelophora inaequalis
Harmonia axyridis
Hippodamia convergens
Cycloneda sanguinea
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IPM for Pests of Foliage
Host plant resistance - Yellow sugarcane
aphids colonize and damage only small subset of
clones - Stage 3 clones now being evaluated for
resistance
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IPM for Pests of Foliage
Chemical control Broad spectrum
insecticides used as last resort to prevent or
minimize losses from foliage pests
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Summary
- Insect pests of roots, seed pieces, shoots
foliage - IPM in Sugarcane includes cultural
(incl. flooding rotation), chemical and
biological controls, scouting using treatment
thresholds, breeding program for host plant
resistance
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Summary
- Natural and augmentative biological control
agents important for maintaining insect
populations under economic thresholds