Comparative Efficacy of Insecticidal Treatments against Sugarcane Borers and their Association with Cane Weight under Field Conditions

Abstract

Sugarcane borers are important constraints to stalk productivity, quality and insecticide treatments may differ in pest suppression and crop response. A field experiment was conducted during 2024-25 at the Farm area of the Sugarcane Research Institute, Faisalabad, Pakistan, using sugarcane cv. CPF-252 in a randomized complete block design with three replications. Twenty-one insecticidal treatments representing different formulations and rates were compared with an untreated control.  Tiller infestation was recorded at 15 and 30 days after treatment application, while assessing borer damage at harvest. Ten-cane weight was recorded, and its relative difference from the control was calculated as a comparative cane-weight reduction index. Insecticidal treatments significantly differed in borer damage and ten-cane weight under RCBD-LSD analysis. Chlorantraniliprole 0.4% G at 8 kg acre⁻¹ recorded the lowest cumulative internode damage (2.38%), significantly lower than the untreated control (20.23%), whereas lufenuron 50% EC produced the highest ten-cane weight (13.02 kg). Thus, borer suppression and cane-weight response were not necessarily associated, supporting their simultaneous consideration in insecticide evaluation.