Efficacy of Guthion and Pydrin Applied from Aircraft for Sugarcane Borer (SCB) Control, Large-Plot Field Trail, 1981

A randomized complete block experimental design was used with treatments replicated 5 times at the Lanaux Brothers Farm, Killona, LA. Individual plots ranged from 2.2 to 2.3 acres of sugarcane (cultivar CP 61-37) 1st stubble crop. All insecticide concentrates were applied at 30 psi in water to sugarcane foliage on 48-ft aircraft swaths at a 2-gal rate of finished formula-tion/acre. Insecticide applications were initiated when sugarcane internodes were first visible above ground and when 5% of the stalks harbored small (1st to 3rd) stage larvae in leafsheaths; they were repeated only when this level of infestation was encountered again in Guthion 2L-treated plots. Al insecticide applications were discontinued in early fall when SCB infestations no longer posed a threat to the sugarcane crop. Three applications of each insecticide formulation were made with 3-4 wk inter-vals between applications; application dates were Jun 26, Jul 16 and Aug 13. Full season efficacy of insecticide treatments was determined Oct 6-8 (1 mo prior to crop harvest) by examining 50 stalks randomly selected from each plot for the presence of SCB-bored internodes.