Association of sugarcane cold tolerace with stem borer resitance

Authors: Penn, Hannah; Todd, James; Corak, Keo; Hale, Anna

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/30/2026
Publication Date: 5/9/2026
Citation: Penn, H., Todd, J.R., Corak, K.E., Hale, A.L. 2026. Association of sugarcane cold tolerace with stem borer resitance. Scientific Reports. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-52027-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-52027-3

Interpretive Summary: Louisiana is one of the coldest sugarcane growing locations in the world, and as such, the use of cold tolerant cultivars is needed to prevent sugar loss after early freezes. In Louisiana, the main insect pests of sugarcane are stem borers like the sugarcane borer (SCB) and the Mexican rice borer (MRB). These pests can also be managed in part by using resistant cultivars that prevent the pests from doing well. We suspected that that cold tolerant cultivars may also be resistant to borers as prior work has shown this as well as high fiber being common in both cases. To see if this was true, we looked at all previously released cultivars and recorded their cold tolerance and SCB and MRB resistance levels. We then looked at the relationships between these traits and with total fiber content. Further, we tested if cultivars with different levels of cold tolerance and SCB resistance changed how much weight SCB caterpillars gained and how long they survived. We found that cultivars with good cold tolerance were often also borer resistant. But total fiber content was only related to borer resistance not cold tolerance. We also did not see any differences in caterpillar performance on diets containing different cultivars. This means that breeding new cultivars for both borer resistance and cold tolerance is possible, but it shouldn’t focus on total fiber content.

Technical Abstract: Louisiana is among the coldest sugarcane-growing locations in the world, and as such, the use of cold tolerant cultivars is necessary to prevent degradation of sugar content following freezes before the crop is harvested. The most economically damaging insect pests of sugarcane in Louisiana are stem borers - the sugarcane borer (SCB, Diatraea saccharalis (F.) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)) and the Mexican rice borer (MRB, Eoreuma loftini (Dyar) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae)). Both pests are managed, in part, with resistant cultivars. To further substantiate prior work that indicated that there may be a potential “cross-tolerance” for cold and stem borers, commercially released cultivars were reviewed to assess the strength of this trait association. Using multivariate methods, we assessed the interaction of borer resistance and cold tolerance with genetics (using SSR markers) and their associations with fiber, TRS, and tonnage. Further, SCB larval performance was assessed on cultivars differing in borer resistance and cold tolerance. Both SCB and MRB resistance were associated with good cold tolerance, but this was not mediated by total fiber, TRS, or tonnage. There was no strong genetic clustering with SCB resistance, MRB resistance, or cold tolerance. Further, SCB larval survival and performance did not differ among tested cultivars. These data indicate that breeding for both stem borer resistance and cold tolerance may be possible given the robust relationship between them. However, further evaluation of potential mechanisms and genetic linkages is required before more targeted simultaneous breeding can occur.