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🌱 Q.U.I.P.S. Edition 34
Eldana Exposed: One Comprehensive Piece with 9 Essential Pest Management Pearls
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Edition 34
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We’re back… with another one-piece, comprehensive, value-galore write up. This time, on all things… Eldana! Dive in and enjoy! 🤓
Searching back through the TropicalBytes sugar stories, we relive the days when we were able to share who our farmers were 🥰 – it gave an added aspect of interest that, we confess, we miss. What we DON’T miss, and we're sure the farmers don’t either, are those awkward photo shoots trying to capture the perfect shot with the farmer as the focal point…. But, that’s neither here nor there. 😂
Today it’s all about Eldana, the dreaded sugarcane pest!
Between 2016 and 2019, we interviewed 42 sugar cane farmers and covered pest management extensively in every one of those sessions. And so, quickly realising that we can’t share everything we covered from all 42 farmers in one QUIPS, we put together an organised summary of:
🥇 9 Essential Pest Management Pearls for Eldana 🥇
To start though, let’s clarify that: healthy cane is more resistant to insect and disease damage than stressed cane.
This view is not only supported by most farmers; it’s nature!
A JAFF we interviewed last week reminded us that insects are the planet’s waste management crew and, in a natural environment, they target unhealthy plants (and dead creatures) because those are the weak links that need to be disposed of.
Healthy plants exude a hormone that repels insects; stressed/unhealthy plants, unfortunately, do not.
This was evident on all the farms we visited post the 2016 drought. Those that had never experienced insect pressure before suddenly had issues!
Why? The drought stressed the cane.
The lesson? The best insect repellent is the natural eau-de-cologne of a stress-free plant.
1.) Proactive Scouting:
It is paramount that you do your own scouting, rather than relying on industry services – go out into the fields and assess the situation for yourself. Don’t get complacent. Droughts and other cycles happen and you need to be ready at all times. Remember that insects generally prefer hot, dry conditions, while diseases and fungi lean towards cooler, damp environments – use this intel to be aware of what to look for, where and when.
2.) Balanced Advice:
Listen to technical advisors but keep in mind that some may just want to sell you product. Weigh their advice carefully and consider multiple perspectives.
3.) Long-term vs Short-term Solutions:
Be careful about the short-sightedness of winning a battle (chemical sprays) whilst losing the war (long term resistance and weak ecosystems).
4.) Impact of Farming Practices:
Be mindful that all farming practices, including burning, affect insects and can destabilise the ecosystem. Make sustainable practices a priority.
5.) Insect Activity Tolerance:
All farmers should have a tolerance for some insect activity. This could support a small predator population, in turn helping control pest levels naturally. It’s all part of maintaining the balance across the four trophic levels.
6.) Eldana Specific Insights:
These insects have four life cycle phases; moth, egg, worm, pupae. The worms burrow into the cane and eat the fibre inside the stalk leaving hollow, empty cane sticks. The pupae then hatch from there, as moths, mate and lay eggs on the leaves. They prefer the coastal (lower altitudes) areas and warm, dry weather (sounds like most humans).
Eldana Four Stage Life Cycle
Although farmers report certain cane varieties as being more, or less, susceptible, this often contradicts reports in other areas. Obviously, the longer the cane stands, the higher the risk of infestation. But one very respectable top farmer warns that it’s a fallacy that short-cycle cane is 'Eldana-free'. He says “it’s not picked up because it’s not checked!”
7.) Chemical and Chemical Free Solutions:
Chemical Strategies:
A few top farmers shared some sage advice about using chemicals on Eldana.
Factors such as temperature, rainfall, plant stress, and nitrogen levels, all play a part in the life cycle of Eldana.
A decision to spray or not to spray must be made after assessing exactly what stage your Eldana is at.
The pesticides available for this insect are incredibly expensive. Spraying when the worm is inside the cane stalk achieves absolutely nothing. The only time to spray is when the chemical can come into contact with the Eldana. Know your “enemy” so that you don’t waste your money or sacrifice your crop. Rather don’t spray at all than spray outside the effective window.
The Biosecurity (P&D people) teams will advise what stage you’re at.
The use of non-selective pesticides, to fight infestations, kill natural predators indiscriminately, leading to more problems. Using selective chemicals that specifically target the pest, though more expensive, is advised.
Natural Alternatives:
Infested areas could be burned and cut immediately.
Invite and host natural predators. There is also a parasitic wasp available that helps control Eldana populations.
Bats. Some farmers have installed bat hotels and planted alternate Eldana food sources nearby. Not only do bats like to snack on Eldana, they’re also a vital link in the natural food chain. Extra bonus if you’re a mac farmer too; they LOVE stink bugs!
Bat Box Options
Push and pull plants. Melinis minutiflora. This grass is a ‘push plant’ that emits a volatile scent which attracts natural enemies of Eldana. The Eldana borer moths pick up this scent and ‘get the message’ that it’s not a good place to lay eggs as the risk of predators is high.
Volatiles that emanate from the Melanus minutiflora serve to disrupt the flight paths of the Eldana moths. This grass does require some management though, in that it should be doused with water to prevent burning during cane fires. It should also be mowed regularly as too thick a bed, resulting from late mowing, will almost certainly catch fire and kill the grass.
Cyperus papyrus and Cyperus dives are two “pull plants” ie: they attract Eldana. They are therefore good plants to include in any wetland ecosystem which are perfectly placed as passages alongside rivers and damp valley bottoms where cane does not grow well anyway. The natural area passageways become routes along which wildlife can traverse the farm safely while enriching the biodiversity. The Cyperus plants grow easily from slip so propagation is almost free.
Left: Our farmer, pointing out the razor-sharp, serrated edges of the cyperus dives. Centre: Both cyperus dives and cyperus papyrus alongside each other in the newly established wetland, which is only a year old and already the bird life was prolific the day we visited. Right: Cyperus papyrus alone.
Wild Bananas (Strelitzia nicoli) are also good to plant in ‘natural’ passages. The bats sleep in the furled-up leaves of the wild bananas.
Bt-maize. Plant this trojan horse… the Eldana moths arrive on the plant and lay eggs, which hatch. The worms then eat the soft growth of the stalk, which is poisonous to them, and they die. Our farmers in Paddock have been planting a few rows of this mielie wherever they have had a small outbreak of Eldana and the results have been positive.
This Insect-resistant corn contains a built-in insecticidal protein from a naturally occurring soil microorganism (Bt) – hence the name. Tests carried out determined that Eldana will actually choose the Bt-maize over sugarcane. All of the points above mean that the Bt-maize is considered an effective dead-end trap crop.
Molasses grass is another 'push' plant to consider. It gives off a repelling odour so, planting it amongst the cane and Bt-maize, helps to direct the Eldana to the maize.
8.) Harvesting Techniques:
Cut LOW. Taking ALL the cane out the field, in harvest, should be obvious but doesn’t always happen. Leaving stalks too high will not only lessen your yield, it might also exacerbate the Eldana situation as the worms can stay burrowed in this stump, ready to attack the next ratoon.
Evidence of Eldana (red) in cane stalks left in-field.
9.) Supplement for Plant Strength:
Supplement for strength. As we know, Silica and Calcium work together to produce strong, dense cells in plants. When Eldana (or any chewing insect) tries to feed on these tough plants, their mandibles are blunted and they die.
Managing Eldana requires a combination of knowledge, vigilance, and innovative approaches. By integrating these practices, sugarcane farmers can effectively control Eldana, enhancing both crop health and yield.
Hope this was helpful! 🤓
That’s a wrap folks!
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