Abstract
A 3-yr study done to evaluate sugarcane, Saccharum officinarum L., cultivars for resistance to sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis (F.), indicated the need to examine the effect of cultivars on areawide pest populations in addition to the resistance to plant injury from pest attack. Evaluation of the percentage of bored internodes has traditionally served as the primary criterion to quantify sugarcane resistance to sugarcane borers. However, this index measures, the cultivar resistance only until penetration by young larvae into the stalk. Using the emergence holes of the sugarcane borer as the seasonal record of adult emergence, a relative survival index was developed to estimate the proportion of larvae inside the stalk that survived to adulthood. A low correlation (r = 0.253) was found between the percentage of bored internodes and the relative survival of the older larvae. Resistance ratings based on the percentage of bored internodes were found to be inadequate estimators of moth production because differences in borer survival after entry into the stalk influence the resultant adult moth emergence. Moth production on a cultivar serves as a measure of areawide suppression or enhancement of borer populations. Data from this study indicated that evaluations of varietal resistance to the sugarcane borer should be based on resistance to damage and the potential effect on areawide populations.
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