Sugarcane yellow stem borer | Top 8 Management

(Sugarcane yellow stem borer, Nature of damage, life cycle, egg stage, larva stage, pupa stage, Top 8 Management, Natural enemies)

Do you want to earn lakhs of rupees by cultivating sugarcane, when you cultivate sugarcane, there is an outbreak of yellow top borer insects in your field. And damages your crop, which reduces the yield of the crop. So today in this article we will learn about the scientific name family of the yellow stem borer and its order as well as the nature of damage to its life cycle and how we can control it.

Sugarcane yellow stem borer 

The common name of sugarcane yellow stem borer is Ankur bedhak and its scientific name is chilo infeuscatellus. In 1980, this insect was discovered by Dutch entomologist Samuel Constantinus van Vollenhoven. 

Nature of damage of Sugarcane yellow stem borer

The caterpillar of the sugarcane yellow stem borer causes more damage to the crop. Due to this, the yield of the crop is greatly reduced, in this we will know how the insect damages the sugarcane plant.

•  Damage is caused by the caterpillar which bore cane stalks at the level of the ground and feeds inside the soft tissues going upwards as well as downwards as far as the roots.
• The central whorl of leaves dries and from the characteristic dead heart.
• The peculiarity of the dead heart is that only the Central leaf dries up and other leaves remain green for a long time.
• When a dead heart is pulled out it gives a very offensive smell. The shoot borer caterpillar is a migratory inhabit and after killing one shoot it goes to another and a single caterpillar may destroy three or four shoots.
• The long tunnelling of the stem greatly reduced the yield and quality of juice.
• Under severe infestation, it may cause 25 to 30% loss to the crop.

This past is more serious in western and Central cane growing areas of Uttar Pradesh.

• In Northern India, the maximum damage is caused from April to June.
• The incidence of shoot borer is more pronounced in light soils under dry conditions.
• The economic threshold level is a 15% incidence.

The life cycle of sugarcane yellow stem borer 

Sugarcane yellow stem borer There are four developmental stages in life, out of which the larval stage is harmful to the plant.

The egg stage of the sugarcane yellow stem borer

is the first developmental stage of the yellow stem borer in which a female lays eggs are in clusters.

• The eggs are laid in clusters by the female mouth on the undersurface of leaves.
• They are creamy, white, oval, scale-like, and deposited into two or three overlapping rows.
• There are more than 30 eggs in each cluster.
• The egg hatches in about 4 to 6 days.

The larva stage of the sugarcane yellow stem borer

is the second development. In this stage, the larvae emerge from the egg.

• Newly hatched larvae possess a dark head and translucent body with long hairs on dark spots.
• These spots change into prominent gray Tubercle provided with long bristles and 5 strips of violet color develop.
• The newly hatched larvae feed singly or in a group on tender leaf sheath for 4 to 6 days.
• The behavior at this stage is more or less like a leaf miner. Later they disperse and each caterpillar makes a hole on the stem just at the soil surface.
• After entering into the cane stalk, they feed on plant tissue for 3 to 4 weeks.
• The full-grown caterpillar is 25 mm long and of dirty white.
• The larval period of the yellow stem borer ends in three to four weeks, after which it turns into a pupa.

The pupa stage of the sugarcane yellow stem borer

is the third developmental stage of tomorrow, in which the larva performs the pupation activity in the suit of sugar cane itself.

• Full-grown larva between the tunnel in the shoot and before pupation it constructs an exit hole in the cane just above the ground surface for the emergence of moth.
• The pupa of the yellow stem borer is brownish. 
• Its pupal period ends in a week, after which the moth emerges from the hole of the stem.
• During winter larvae do not change into pupae but hibernate and pupate in March.

The adult stage of yellow stem borer

this is the last developmental stage of the sugarcane yellow stem borer’s life cycle.

• Adult moths are Grayish brown with dark markings on the four wings, while hind wings are greyish-white.
• Eyes large antennae and wings expense of 25 to 35 mm.
• The posterior region of the abdomen is somewhat pointed.
• The adult moths after emergence copulates in the night and females start egg-laying after two to three days of copulation.
• The life cycle of the yellow stem borer is completed in 34 to 44 days.
• There are generally 5 to 6 generations in a year but during favourable conditions, 8 generations in a year have been recorded.
• Pupation among the overwintering larvae starts in the later half of February or the beginning of March when there is a slight temperature rise.

Top 8 Management of sugarcane yellow stem borer 

We have so far in this article about the nature of damage and life cycle, now we will know how to control this insect-paste.

• The stables may be destroyed and burnt after harvest.
• Earthing up of sugarcane should be done during May and June and the surface portion of cane may be covered.
• Timely cutting of attacked shoots at just below the ground level in your destruction of most of the caterpillars present within the stem.
• Larvae may also be destroyed by pulling the dead hearts.
• Early planting( by the middle of February) helps check serious damage of the shoot borer under North Indian conditions.
• Treat the soil with 2% Lindane dust @ 30 kg per hectare before sowing.
• The sprinkling of Gamma BHC (Lindane) 20 EC@ 5 litres/ha in 1500 litres of water over the sets in the furrows at the time of planting of cane proved effective or apply several granule @ 18.75 kg/ha.
• The spraying of endosulfan 35 EC @ 1.85-2.50 litre in 1200 litres of water was found effective; this should be repeated 3 to 4 times at 10 to 12 days intervals.
• Apply 25kg cartop hydrochloride granule 4g ​​mixed in 20 kg sand or 5 litres of chlorpyriphos 20 EC in 1000 litres water after 45 days of planting.

Natural enemies of Sugarcane yellow stem borer 

The following natural enemies have been found on different stages of the pest.

Egg parasite

1. Phanurus beneficience
2. Trichogramma minutum, Trichogramma intermediate, Trichogramma exiguum,
3. Trichogramma chilonis

Larval parasite

1. Apanteles fluvipes
2. Stenobracon nicevillei
3. Goniojus indicius

Pupal parasite

1. Tetrastichus sp
2. Aperostocus sp
3. Melcha ornatipinnis.

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