ESA Annual Meetings Online Program

0950 Impact of rice harvest height and ratoon cropping on late season and overwintering stem borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) infestations

Tuesday, November 15, 2011: 10:47 AM
Room A19, First Floor (Reno-Sparks Convention Center)
JM. Beuzelin , Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA
A. Meszaros , Department of Entomology, LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA
M. O. Way , Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, Beaumont, TX
TE. Reagan , Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA
A 2-yr field study in Texas compared infestations of the stem borers Eoreuma loftini (Dyar) and Diatraea saccharalis (F.) in rice (Oryza sativa L.) as affected by main crop harvest height and the production of a ratoon (second) crop. Substantial infestations (> 5.6 stem borers/m2) remained in rice culms regardless of harvest height (20 vs. 40 cm). However, the lower harvest reduced E. loftini infestations 3.4 to 5.4-fold whereas D. saccharalis infestations were not changed. This study also showed that rice stubble under favorable conditions represents an overwintering habitat for stem borers.

doi: 10.1603/ICE.2016.58447