​DuPont develops innovative method to reduce sugarcane borer pressure

Research from the sugar-energy sector indicates that the action of the sugarcane borer results in annual losses of around R$3 billion in Brazil. According to DuPont agronomist Christian Menegatti, the moth with the scientific name Diatraea saccharallis, which reproduces with impressive speed and gives rise to up to five generations per harvest, has become the most damaging pest to sugarcane fields. This situation, points out the executive, led the company to study new techniques for managing the borer using its leading insecticide Altacor.

According to Menegatti, the company's technical team has achieved highly satisfactory results when applying the insecticide directly in the furrow of the crop, when the sugarcane is planted. “We found that the method provides good sugarcane development from sprouting. The plant grows borer-free for more than 150 days”, highlights the agronomist.

Menegatti adds that in plants that employ meiosi – a method that consists of interspersing other crops with the sugarcane field – the use of Altacor in the planting stage also favored the production of healthy seedlings, free from the borer.

Regarding the damage caused by the pest, the executive emphasizes that with just 1% infestation, a plant can lose around three tons of sugarcane per hectare.

“In a plant with an average productivity of 80 tons per hectare and processing of 2 million tons, this 1% puts 70 thousand tons of sugar cane at risk, or the production corresponding to 900 hectares”, explains the manager of DuPont.

In addition to the quantitative loss, the sugarcane borer causes losses in the quality of the raw material, due to the reduction of ATR – total recoverable sugar. “Just over 1% borer infestation is equal to 0,25% less ethanol production and 0,42% less sugar,” notes Menegatti.

The DuPont executive also highlights that the reduction in cultural treatments and investments in technology in crops in the sugar-energy sector, heavily affected by the economic downturn, tends to maintain high pest pressure in the ongoing harvest.

Based on official data and studies by DuPont, Menegatti calculates that today at least half of the area cultivated with sugar cane, around 4,5 million hectares, is vulnerable to the action of the borer.

“In areas with a history of borer in which there are structural difficulties, or there is a lack of manpower to monitor the pest, the treatment method at the planting stage is an effective alternative to preserve the health of the sugarcane field and avoid losses resulting from the loss of raw material”, says Menegatti.

In the conventional treatment of sugarcane fields with Altacor, explains Menegatti, DuPont recommends applying the product during the harvest, at a dose of 60 grams per hectare, as soon as the presence of the pest in the crop is confirmed. “In this case, the key to effective chemical control is precise monitoring, especially in areas where there is a history of sugarcane borer attacks”, adds the agronomist.

“We recommend in the leaflet, in conventional treatment, an application of Altacor® followed by a new monitoring, after 45 days, to find out if a second application will be necessary”, continues Menegatti.

Leader in the insecticide market for sugarcane borer control, Altacor is an agrochemical belonging to the class of anthranilic diamides, originating from the latest generation molecule Rynaxypyr, developed by DuPont. The product, according to the company, is selective tocotesia flavipes, the 'wasp' used in the biological control of the sugarcane borer. It also has a favorable environmental profile, low toxicity, high insecticidal potency, fast action and prolonged pest control period, up to 60 days in conventional application.