The document provides an extensive overview of various insect pests affecting sugarcane, detailing their scientific names, symptoms of damage, and control methods including cultural, biological, and chemical controls. Specific pests discussed include the early shoot borer, internode borer, top borer, white grub, termites, leaf hoppers, and various scales and mealy bugs, with recommendations on integrated pest management strategies tailored to each pest. The text emphasizes the importance of monitoring and timely intervention to protect sugarcane crops from significant yield losses.

1. Insect pests of sugarcane
Insect pest Scientific name Family Order
EARLY SHOOT
BORER
Chilo infuscatellus Pyralidae Lepidoptera
INTERNODE
BORER
Chilo sacchariphagus
indicus Pyralidae
Lepidoptera
TOP BORER Scirpophaga nivella Pyralidae
Lepidoptera
B
O
R
E
R
C
O
M
P
L
E
X

2. ROOT GRUB
Holotrichia
serrata
Melolonthidae Coleoptera
TERMITE
Odontotermes
obesus
Termitidae Isoptera
SUGARCANE
SCALE
Melanapis
glomerata
Diaspididae Hemiptera
SUGARCANE
MEALY BUG
Ripersia sacchari Pseudococcidae Hemiptera
SUGARCANE
LEAF HOPPER
Pyrilla perpusilla Lophopidae
Hemiptera
WOOLY APHID
Ceratobvacuna
lanigera
Aphididae
Hemiptera
WHITE FLY
Aleurolobus
barodensis
Alerodidae
Hemiptera
Continued…

3. SUGARCANE EARLY SHOOT BORER
Larva
pupa
adult
Egg

4. Attack 1-3 month old crop and cause
Dead heart , which can be easily
pulled out.
Rotten portion of the cane coloured
dead heart emits an offensive odour.
A number of bore holes at the base
of the shoot just above the ground
level.
DEAD HEART
ROTTEN
BASE
WITH HOLE
SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE

5. INTERNODE BORER
Larva
Adult
 Larvae are white with a black
head which later become creamy
in colour with prominent
brown spots
 Body bearing stout hairs in each
section of the body
 Adult moths are yellowish or
straw coloured with thin brown
lines along the length of the
forewings
 Hind wings in females are white but
slightly darker in males

6. SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE
Constricted and shortened
internodes, with a number of
boreholes filled with excreta
at nodal region.
Reddening of affected
tissues inside the cane.
Fresh borer attack is mostly
found in the top five
immature internodes and its
activity continues till harvest.
Multiple holes with
excreta outside
Hole just
above the
node

7. SUGARCANE TOP BORER
Adult
Larva
Egg
Milky white moth
Brownish tuft of
silken hair at the
tip of abdomen
 Full grown larva
is 25- 30mm
 Long creamy
white & rather
sluggish.
Adult
Dull white elongate
eggs
Covered by buff
coloured hairs from
female anal tuft

8. SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE
Parallel rows of short holes
in the emerging leaves causes
a white streak which later
turns reddish brown
Dead heart in grown up canes
reddish brown in color which
cannot be easily pulled .
In tillering phase of the crop,
the attacked shoots die, side
shoots (tillers) develop
producing a bunchy top
appearance Bunchy
top
Parallel
rows of
short
holes

9.  Time of planting
 Early planting during December –
January to escape the shoot borer
incidence.
 Manuring
 Avoid excess use nitrogenus fertilizers.
 Stalk borer and internode borer.
 Trash mulching and earthing up
 Early shoot borer and Internode borer
 Detrashing
 Internode borer and Stalk borer
Cultural control methods
IPM for Sugarcane borers
EARTHING UP
DETRASHING
M
A
N
U
R
I
N
G
 Use of pheromone traps @ 5/acre for
monitoring of adult moths

10.  Removal and destruction of infested cane
 Early shoot borer
 Collection and destruction of eggs
 Internode borer and Top borer
 Cultivation of resistance variety
 Co 975, Co 46, Co 7304, Co 312,
Co 421, Co 661, Co 7706, CO 7005
 Irrigation at closer intervals for managing
 Practice deep harvesting to destroy
stubbles
 Early shoot borer
 Removal of water shoots to destroy
 Top shoot borer

11. Biological control of sugarcane
borer
For Early shoot borer :
• Trichogramma chilonis
For Internode borer :
• Trichogramma chilonis
For Top borer :
• Trichogramma chilonis or T. japonicum
• Isotima javensis
 Release 50,000 Trichogramma sp./ha at 10-20 days interval from July
onwards upto October against cane borer complex.
 Release of Isotima javensis against 3rd and 4th broods of top borer.
S. inferens
I. javensis

12. Insecticide and
formulation
Dosage Method and time of
application
SHOOT BORER
Chlorpyrifos 20EC 1kg a.i ha -1
(5 litre) Soil drenching at planting
and if need be at 45 days
after planting.
Cypermethrin10%
EC
260-304 ml in 200-
280 l of water/acre
Sprayed around the base of
plants at 30days and if need
be at 60days after planting.
Fipronil 5%SC 1500-2000 ml/ha Properly sprayed on crop
canopy as well as basal part
of the plant after 30-45 days
of planting
NSKE 5 % 25 Kg/ha Sprayed on soil as well as on
crop to prevent larval feeding
Chemical control of sugarcane
borer

13. TOP BORER
Carbofuran 3 G or
Phorate 10 G
1 kg a.i./ha (33 kg)
or
3 kg a.i./ha (30 kg)
Soil application during last
week of June or first week of
July against third brood of
the pest in sub-tropical
India.
INTER NODE BORER
Monocrotophos 36
SL
3 kg a.i./ha (7.5 lit.)
Both foliar and Soil
application during July-
August.
Continued…

14. WHITE GRUB
The eggs are oval creamy white when
fresh and later turn to brown in colour
The newly hatched grub is white &
scarabaeiform
The pupa is exarate type and pupation
takes place in soil
- Generally the adults are lamellate and
males being smaller than female.
- Dark brown beetles.

15. SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE
Both grub and adult cause the
damage
Grub feeds on fine rootlets and
then girdles of the main roots .
Yellowing and wilting of leaves
and finally dries out
Affected canes come off
easily when pulled

16. Cultural Methods
 Collection and destruction of adult
beetles from host trees.
 Picking of grubs manually from field
 Repeated ploughing & exposing
various stages of grub to their
natural enemies.
 The use of light trap.
Biological Methods
 Bacillus popillae (Bacteria)
 Beauveria bassiana (Fungus)
IPM strategy for White grub
Chemical Methods
 The adult can be
controlled by -
 Carbaryl 0.1%
 Monocrotophos
0.05%
 Chlorpyriphos 0.05%
 The grub can be
(Light

17. TERMITE
 Workers attack the
newly planted setts and
affect germination.
 They enter through cut ends of
setts & feed on the soft tissue.
 The tunnel is filled with the soil.
 The termites attack setts, shoots,
canes and also stubbles
 Entire shoot dries up and can
be pulled out easily
SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE

18. The use of partially decomposed manure should be
avoided
Locate and destroy the termite colony near by field
Irrigation water with crude oil emulsion.
 The removal of decaying organic matters cow dung,
wood or dry stubbles from the field.
 Setts treatment with Imidacloprid (0.1%) or
Chlorpyriphos 20 EC 0.04 % for 5 min.
 Application of well rotten Neem cake manure @ 60
Cartloads/ ha.
Spray Chlorpyriphos 20%EC 750 ml/ha
IPM strategy forTermite

19. SUGARCANE LEAF HOPPER
 Pale greenish yellow eggs in clusters
 Eggs are laid on the underside of leaves,
covered over with a white filamentous
waxy material secreted by the female
 Newly hatched nymphs are milky white
in color
 They posses a characteristic feather like
processes covered by wax
 Adults are straw coloured with wings
folded like a roof on the back
 Head is prominently drawn forward as a
sort of rostrum.
EGG
N
Y
M
P
H
ADULT

20. SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE
Adults and the nymphs suck leaf sap
from the under surface of the lower
leaves.
Leaves become yellow, top leaves
get dried up and lateral buds
germinate
Hoppers exude honeydew, result the
leaves are completely covered by the
sooty mould. This affects
photosynthesis.
Black sooty
mould
Yellowing in
leaf

21.  Burn trashes after harvesting canes
 Remove lower leaves bearing egg cluster.
 Ratooning should be avoided
 Balance Nitrogen should be applied.
 Dust malathion 5% @ 40kg/ha. or
Spray malathion 50 EC @ 1.25kga.i./ha.
 Release of 8,000-12,000 cocoons or 3.2 to 4
lakh eggs of Epiricania melanoleuca per ha.
during July-August
 Use Metarhizium anisopliae (fungal pathogen)
IPM strategy for Pyrilla
E. melanoleuca

22.  Nymphs and adults feed by sucking
the juice and cause shrivelling up
and stunting of canes.
 Nodal region is more infested than
internodal region.
 Infested crop losses its vigour, canes
shrivel, non-opening of leaves &
ultimately cane dries up
 Such canes when slit open appear
brownish red
SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE
Node
SUGARCANE SCALE

23. CULTURAL PRACTICE:
 Stripping of cane leaves may minimize attack
 Select and plant the scale insect free setts
 Avoid water stagnation for the longer period
 Detrash the crop at 150th and 210th day of planting.
 Give hot water treatment before planting
CHEMICAL CONTROL:
 Presoak the setts in 0.1% solution Malathion 50 EC
 Spray 1.25 litres of Malathion 50 EC or 2 litres of
Di-methoate 30 EC in 1250 litres of water per ha
 Spray methyl demeton 25 EC @ 2ml/lit of water
IPM strategy for Sugarcane Scale

24. SUGARCANE MEALY BUG
SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE
Pinkish oval insects beneath leaf
sheath & on the nodes, with whitish
waxy coating.
 Nymph and adult suck juice from cane in group
& reduces vigour of the plant
 It also attack roots
 Honey dew secretion leads to development of
Sooty mould which gives blackish appearance
to canes.

25. IPM strategy for Sugarcane Mealy bug
 Use resistant varieties like CO 439, CO 443, CO 720, CO 730
 Drain excess water from the field
 Detrash the crop on 150 and 210 Days After Planting.
 Apply methyl parathion 50 EC 1000 ml.
 Rubbing of setts with gunny bag pieces dipped in Malathion
(0.1% solution.)
 Biocontrol agents
Brumoides suturalis
Leptomastix dactyolopii
B. suturalis L. dactyolopii
(Predator
)
(Parasitoid)

26. Nymphs and adult
of C. lanigera
Alate (winged) form
of C. lanigera
SYMPTOMS OF DAMAGE
Nymphs and adult feed in groups
and weaken cane
Leaves turn yellow color because of
sucking sap by these aphids
Sooty mould growth on lower leaves
of woolly aphid infested plant.
SUGARCANE WOOLY APHID
( Affected plant leaves )

27.  Removal of water shoots
 Detrashing of canes in woolly aphid prone areas.
IPM strategy for Sugarcane Woolly Aphid
Dipha aphidivora Micromus igorotus
Biocontrol agents
Syrphid larvae Aphelinus desantisi
( PREDATORS ) ( PARASITOID )
 Release of M. igorotus @ 2600 grubs/ha
 Release of Dipha aphidivora @ 1000 larvae/ha

28.  Soil application of phorate 10G @ 10 kg or
carbofuron 3G @ 30 kg /ha in
 Foliar application of dimethoate 30 EC @ 0.05%
acephate 75 SP @ 0.1%
at 15-20 days interval depending on pest
population.
Synonycha
grandis (Thunberg)
Megalocaria
dilatata (Fabricius
Coelophora
biplagiata (Swartz)
OTHER NATURAL PREDATORS
CHEMICAL CONTROL:

30. Management
• Avoid excessive use of nitrogenous
fertilizers
• Nymphal parasitoids: Azotus delhiensis
 Predators: Chilocorus nigritus
 Moncrotohphos 36 SL @ 2 lit /ha

31. Sorghum is a major crop inMaharastra, TN, AP,UP, Rajasthan,
Haryana, Gujarat, Karnataka, MP,Chhattsgarh
More than 150 species of Insects have been reported to
damage Sorghum. However, over a dozen species are very
serious and constitute a major constraint in sorghum
production
These insect pests are classified as
Borer pests
Ear head feeders
Sap feeders
Defoliators
Non insect pests

32. Sorghum shoot fly: Atherigona soccata
(Muscidae : Diptera)
Adult fly
Maggot
inside the
shoot
Fully grown maggot
Eggs: are laid on 2 to 5 youngest leaves of sorghum seedlings
Among this it prefers the basal half portion of ventral
surface of leaves I.P: 1 to 2 days
Larvae : there are 4 larval instars
Maggots are apodous and yellowish in colour and tapering to wards
anteriorly
L.P : 6 to 12 days
Pupa : pupation at base of the stem. PP – 6 to 8 days
Life stages of the pest
It is a major pest in all traditional sorghum growing areas like
Maharashtra, TN, and Karnataka
Alternate hosts – Maize, Ragi, Wheat, Bajra
More incidence observed in late kharif and early rabi crop
While Insects cause 12 % loss in Sorghum Production
Shoot fly alone is responsible for 5 %
Adults resembles house fly, little smaller and grayish brown in
colour with 6 black spots on the abdomen

33. 6 black spots on the abdomen

34. Nature and symptoms of damage
Incidence - The 1-6 weeks old seedlings are more
susceptible
 Maggots on hatching crawls on upper surface of the leaf and later,
penetrate / enter between leaf sheath and stem and further maggot reaches
ground level and feed on growing point between leaf sheath and leaf whorl as
a result in wilting and drying of central shoot know as ‘dead heart ‘ symptoms.
 Growing point soft, succulent protected by leaf sheath and starts decaying
which is fed by maggots, the central shoot dies and more tillers will come out the
maggots will affect these side shoots and when dead hearts are pulled out they
come up easily and produce bad smell
Dead heart ‘ symptom
The pest will complete its life cycle quickly at
conditions like
 Temp – 25-300 c
 RH - more than 60%
 Continuous rain fall decrease pest incidence