COMBINING SUSCON® PLUS AND BIOCANE IN CONVENTIONAL AND DUAL-ROW PLANT CANE FOR CONTROL OF GREYBACK CANEGRUB

THE AVAILABILITY of a greater range of insecticides such as suSCon® Plus and BioCane has provided growers with more options for the control of greyback canegrub. Under the GrubPlan program, suSCon® Plus is applied to higher-risk paddocks. BioCane is recommended for application only where lower levels of insect pressure occur, with unacceptable damage levels likely under heavier grub populations. The availability of these products has also coincided with increased grower adoption of changes to the sugarcane farming system including controlled traffic through wider row spacing and dual-row planting. To examine combinations of insecticide options, four trials were established in 2000. These trials evaluated potential options for improving grub control by combining suSCon® Plus with BioCane and the efficacy of combinations suSCon® Plus and BioCane in dual-row planted cane. There was evidence (not tested for significance) of additive benefits of applying BioCane with suSCon® Plus, with increased grub control and improvements in cane yield, sugar yield and ratoon shoot production. In dual-row planted cane, BioCane significantly increased cane and sugar yield at all rates of suSCon® Plus, and by an average of 11t/ha and 2.3t/ha respectively. suSCon® Plus at all rates significantly increased CCS and sugar yield although cane yield was significantly increased only when applied at 67 kg/ha, or the equivalent of the conventional row rate applied to each row within a dual-row bed. The results highlight the need for further research into combinations of insecticides for grub control and management of canegrubs in dual-row planting systems.