Life History of Sugarcane Aphid (Melanaphis sacchari) on Different Potential Hosts

Since 2013, Sugarcane aphid has emerged as an economically important sorghum pest in the southern part of the United States.  The host range of the aphid is restricted to the genera Saccharum, Sorghum, Oryza, Panicum, and Pennisetum but its life history on these hosts has not been reported.  Therefore, the objective of this work was to study the biology of the sugarcane aphid on potential hosts with economic importance in Louisiana. The modified Sampaio’s (2001) methodology was used. Intrinsic rates of increase (rm), nymphal mortality, developmental time, daily reproduction, total reproduction, reproductive period and longevity were recorded and calculated.  Cohorts consisting fifty first-instar nymphs were used in each treatment (host species) and each experiment was conducted twice.  On sweet potato, the nymphs only survived until second instar.  The nymphal mortality was high in rice however, some aphids did reach reproductive adults hood, showed long developmental time, low fertility and short longevity.  The sorghum was the best optimal host indicated by short developmental times, low nymphal mortality, high total and daily reproduction, and longer longevity. This information will form the groundwork for the application of phenological models to predict and manipulate sugarcane population dynamics in sorghum fields.