Successful Integrated Pest Management Minimizes the Economic Impact of Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) on the Louisiana Sugarcane Industry

Abstract

The sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.), is the primary pest of sugarcane, Saccharum spp., in Louisiana. Recent evidence suggests an integrated pest management (IPM) program has reduced the pest's impact, but the success of this program has not been assessed across the industry. The level of D. saccharalis injury present at harvest was recorded from 388 billet samples from five sugar mills from 2017 to 2019. These results were used to estimate direct and indirect revenue losses from D. saccharalis on the Louisiana sugarcane industry. Insecticide use records were used to estimate control costs and determine total economic impact. The mean percentage of bored internodes was 1.1, 0.3, and 1.7% for 2017, 2018, and 2019, respectively. Direct losses from reduced sugar yield averaged US$4.6 million across years. Indirect losses across years accounted for US$3.0 million and $463,000 for insecticidal control costs and reduced milling efficiency, respectively. The total economic impact of D. saccharalis averaged $8.0 million annually during the three-year study period. This study demonstrates the efficacy of pest management implementation in reducing D. saccharalis injury and highlights the value of IPM. Our findings provide new support for the emergence of D. saccharalis management in the Louisiana sugarcane industry as a modern IPM success story.

Keywords: IPM; chemical control; control cost; sugarcane borer; yield loss.