Sugarcane Early Shoot Borer
Chilo infuscatellus
📖 Description
Sugarcane Early Shoot Borer (ESB) is a major pest of sugarcane across the Indian subcontinent, particularly damaging to young crops 1-3 months after planting. Adult female moths lay eggs on the underside of leaves. Newly hatched larvae bore into the central shoot, causing ‘deadheart’ — the central shoot dries up and can be easily pulled out. Damaged shoots either die or produce unproductive side tillers. Yield losses of 20-60% are common in unprotected crops. The pest is most damaging to late-planted sugarcane and ratoon crops. Early planting, granular insecticide application at planting, pheromone trapping, manual removal of deadhearts, and biological control with Trichogramma are key management strategies.
⚠️ Symptoms to watch for
- Deadheart (drying of central shoot) in young sugarcane 1-3 months after planting
- bore holes in shoots with frass
- dead shoots that can be pulled out easily
- side tiller production giving bushy appearance
- reduced tiller survival
- yield loss 20-60%
🩹 Treatment
- Apply carbofuran 3G @ 8 kg/ha in furrows at planting
- install pheromone traps @ 8/ha
- release Trichogramma chilonis @ 50
- 000/ha at 30-60 days after planting
- apply neem oil 5ml/L
- destroy deadhearts manually
🌿 Organic treatments
- Install pheromone traps @ 8/ha for monitoring and mass trapping
- release Trichogramma chilonis @ 50
- 000/ha weekly at 30-60 DAP
- apply Bacillus thuringiensis @ 2 g/L
- apply neem oil 5 ml/L
- remove and destroy deadhearts manually (cut below the bore hole)
- apply 5% NSKE
- light traps @ 1/ha
🧪 Chemical treatments
- Carbofuran 3G @ 8 kg/ha granules in furrows at planting
- Chlorantraniliprole 18.5 SC @ 0.3 ml/L
- Indoxacarb 14.5 SC @ 1 ml/L
- Lambda-cyhalothrin 5 EC @ 1 ml/L
- Cartap hydrochloride 50 SP @ 2 g/L (spray at 30-60 DAP before larval entry)
🛡️ Prevention
- Plant early to escape peak moth activity
- use resistant varieties (Co 86032, CoC 671)
- apply carbofuran in furrows at planting
- install pheromone traps early
- remove and destroy deadhearts manually
- deep plough after harvest to expose pupae
- balanced fertilizer use
- intercrop with green manure crops
- conserve predatory bugs and parasitic wasps
- light trapping during moth flights
🪴 Affected plants
- Sugarcane (primary)
- Pearl Millet
- Maize
- Some Wild Grasses
🦋 Natural predators
- Trichogramma chilonis
- Cotesia flavipes
- Spiders
- Predatory Bugs
- Birds
- Earwigs
🌱 Host plants
- Saccharum officinarum
- Pennisetum glaucum
- Zea mays
🔄 Lifecycle
- Female lays 200-500 eggs in masses on the underside of leaves.
- Eggs hatch in 4-6 days.
- Larvae bore into shoots and feed for 25-40 days, passing through 5-6 instars.
- Pupation occurs inside the shoot or in soil, lasting 7-12 days.
- Adults live 4-7 days.
- Total life cycle 35-55 days; 4-6 generations per year.
📅 Season
- Active Feb-Jun during planting season, peak at 30-90 days after planting
🔎 Appearance
- Adults are small, pale straw-yellowish moths with darker markings on forewings.
- Larvae are greyish-white with a brown head and four longitudinal stripes, growing up to 25 mm, found inside sugarcane shoots.
💥 Damage level
- High
🔁 Reproduction rate
- Fast
🗺️ Geographic regions
- Indian Subcontinent
- Southeast Asia
- East Asia
Have an Insect to Identify?
Upload or take a photo of an insect on your plant and our AI will identify it and recommend treatments.
📷 Diagnose from Image