ARS | Publication request: As usual, another unusual year

Submitted to: Sugar Journal
Publication Type: Trade Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: December 6, 2012
Publication Date: January 15, 2013
Citation: White, W.H. 2013. As usual, another unusual year. Sugar Journal. 75(8):26-30.

Technical Abstract: For reasons often not known, epizootic outbreaks of insects occur. These outbreaks may or may not be predictable or cyclic. In 2012, the Louisiana sugarcane crop suffered an epizootic outbreak of the West Indian canefly. Although the preceding winter was mild, the outbreak of the canefly was unexpected. Infestations of the canefly were the highest in the Bayou Teche region of the sugarcane growing area, and the infestations there persisted from the spring until the early fall. A Crisis Exemption was obtained from the EPA for the insecticide imidacloprid. The Crisis Exemption was for 15 days and allowed for treatment of approximately 20,000 acres. Several strip-treatment experiments and small plot insecticide trials were established. The results from these trials are currently being reviewed and will serve as the basis for developing future control strategies. As no one can predict future insect outbreaks, the best approach may be to seek control strategies that encompass several species of sap feeding insects that infest sugarcane in Louisiana.