My young sugarcane is showing dead hearts where the central shoot dies in the early months. How do I manage early shoot borer?
How do I control early shoot borer in young sugarcane (ganna)?
RRamesh Pawar6mo ago · 229 views
7 Answers
🌾Farmer.in Krishi TeamExpert ✓5mo ago
Early shoot borer bores into young shoots in the first few months and kills the central shoot, giving the dead heart symptom you describe, and heavy attack thins the stand badly. Cultural control is the backbone, so use healthy treated setts, avoid late planting in the hot dry months when the pest is worst, give light frequent irrigation to keep the soil moist, and do earthing up early to cover the base. Remove and destroy dead heart shoots by pulling them out so larvae inside do not continue. Trash mulching and timely irrigation reduce attack significantly. If chemical or biological control is needed, follow the label and local advice, and get the current recommendation and dose from your sugar mill cane department or KVK rather than spraying blindly.
BBhausaheb Gade5mo ago
Avoiding late planting was the biggest help for me. When I planted in the hot dry stretch the dead hearts were everywhere, but planting at the right time with the soil kept moist by light frequent irrigation cut the attack a lot. The borer is worst when the young crop is dry and stressed.
SSopan Nikam5mo ago
I make my labour pull out and destroy the dead heart shoots whenever they spot them, because the grub is sitting inside and will keep moving to the next shoot otherwise. Trash mulching between rows also kept the soil moist and seemed to reduce fresh attacks. It is steady work but it keeps the stand intact.
KKailas Borude4mo ago
Start with healthy treated setts from a clean seed plot, because a weak or already infested sett gives a poor crop from the start. Earthing up early to cover the base also makes it harder for the borer to reach the young shoots. For any spray decision do not guess, get the current recommendation and dose from the mill cane staff or KVK.
DDnyandev Shelke4mo ago
Trash mulching between the rows did two jobs for me, it held the soil moisture so the young crop was not stressed and it seemed to cut the fresh dead hearts. Earlier my dry, crusted field had heavy borer, but the mulched rows kept moist and clean came through with a fuller stand. Spread the trash evenly and keep up the light irrigation in the early months.
AAppasaheb Jadhav4mo ago
Watch the timing of the early irrigation closely, because the dead hearts shot up in my field during a gap when the soil dried out in the heat. Once I kept the watering regular and light so the soil never baked, the new attack slowed. Pair that with pulling out the dead heart shoots and you keep the stand together. Get the spray recommendation from the KVK only if the cultural steps are not enough.
HHanmant Kale3mo ago
Pairing the trash mulch with the light early irrigation worked best for me, because either one alone was not enough in the hot dry stretch. The mulch held the moisture the watering gave and the young crop never got stressed, so the dead hearts stayed low. Keep pulling out any dead heart shoots you spot.