A Relative Resistance Ratio for Evaluation of Stem Borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) Susceptibility Among Sugarcane Cultivars

Monday, March 16, 2015
Camellia A (Beau Rivage Resort & Casino)
Blake E. Wilson , Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
Matthew T. VanWeelden , Department of Entomology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA
J.M. Beuzelin , Department of Entomology, LSU AgCenter, Baton Rouge, LA
T.E. Reagan , Department of Entomology, Louisiana State Univeristy, Baton Rouge, LA
M.O. Way , Department of Entomology, Texas A&M University, Beaumont, TX
W.H. White , Sugarcane Research Unit, USDA-ARS, Houma, LA
The Mexican rice borer, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar), is a major pest of sugarcane in Louisiana and Texas. Resistance to E. loftini was evaluated in 51 commercial and experimental cultivars of sugarcane, energycane, and sorghum in four replicated small plot field experiments from 2009 to 2012. A relative resistance ratio was developed to compare levels of susceptibility among cultivars based on the percentage of bored internodes and survival to adulthood. This index consistently separated cultivars into five resistance categories and provides a new method for comparing levels of resistance among cultivars. Eoreuma loftini pest pressure in 2009 was among the highest recorded with injury ranging from 54–88% bored internodes. Commercial sugarcane cultivar HoCP 85-845 was identified as resistant in three of four experiments, while HoCP 04-838 was identified as susceptible in all experiments. Of the five cultivars in commercial production in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas evaluated, only TCP 87-3388 was categorized as resistant. Continued evaluation of cultivar resistance to E. loftini is important to development of effective integrated pest management strategies for this pest.
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