Source: AgriLife Today
While sugarcane aphids have been difficult to suppress in past years due to their natural traits and limited insecticide options, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research study shows resistant sorghum varieties and beneficial predators could provide a solution.
Dr. Ada Szczepaniec, AgriLife Research entomologist, recently authored “Interactive effects of crop variety, insecticide seed treatment, and planting date on population dynamics of sugarcane aphid and their predators in late-colonized sorghum” in the Crop Protection journal.
This research demonstrates that a commercially available resistant sorghum variety provides an adequate protection against this pest in the central High Plains. It also shows aphid predators already present are readily attracted to aphid-infested sorghum, Szczepaniec said.
Population size, sorghum growth stage and host plant resistance are the key determinants of the damage intensity to sorghum, which is caused by direct aphid feeding injury, she explained. By removing plant nutrients and injuring sorghum throughout its development, sugarcane aphids can decrease yield, reduce seed weight and lower grain quality.
Future research should examine the synergistic interaction between host-plant resistance and biological control in sorghum colonized in reproductive stages, she said. Also, predators should be integrated in the thresholds in order to improve the long-term sustainability of managing sugarcane aphids in sorghum.
Learn more about the Sugarcane Aphid
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