The reappearance of the early shoot borer Chilo infuscatellus

in Java’s sugarcane

K S Wijayanti, Garusti and N Asbani

Indonesian Sweetener and Fiber Crops Research Institute, Indonesian Agency for Agricultural
Research and Development, Malang, Indonesia

E-mail: nurasbani@pertanian.go.id

Abstract. Chilo infuscatellus is one of the earliest identified and reported borer species from
Java’s sugarcane. Further studies by Diakonof, Hong and Sallam et al. reported that the borer
almost disappeared from sugarcane in this area. It was challenging why the borer could not be
found in those studies. Therefore, the study aimed to describe the composition and distribution
of the shoot borer species attacking young sugarcane plants. Field surveys were conducted in 19
sampling sites in the sugarcane fields in Malang, Kediri and Pati. The plant samples with dead
heart symptoms were taken from fields to the laboratory to be observed the borer’s attacks and
identified the species. The finding of C. infuscatellus in all field samples confirmed that this
species did not disappear from the sugarcane crop in Java. Along with this borer, other borer
species had been discovered, namely C. sacchariphagus, C. auricilius, Tetramoera schistaceana,
Scirpophaga excerptalis and Sesamia inferens. Further study needs to be done to investigate the
borer distribution across sugarcane producing regions along with its potential loss due to the
borer infestation.

1. Introduction
Fifty lepidopteran borer species belong to Chilo, Sesamia and Diatraea genera are associated with
sugarcane all over the sugarcane planting area in the world. Chilo and Sesamia are distributed in the old
world, such as Asia, Africa and Europe, while Diatraea is distributed in the new world, namely America
and Oceania [1]. Besides Chilo and Sesamia, three other genera, namely Scirpophaga, Tetramoera and
Phragmataecia, also exist in Indonesia [2].
Three borers species, namely Chilo sacchariphagus, C. auricilius and Scirpophaga excerptalis are
considered as the most important pests on sugarcane in Indonesia [2-4]. On the other hand, borers such
as C. infuscatellus, Tetramoera schistaceana, Sesamia inferens and Phragmataecia castenea are
considered as minor pests [2]. Besides attacking mature crops, these borers might be found in the early
growth period sugarcanes [5] and known as early shoot borer (ESB).
C. infuscatellus Snellen (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) had been recognized in Indonesia as the yellow
top borer (YTB) of sugarcane. Snellen firstly described it from a sugarcane field in Tegal, Central Java,
in 1890 [6]. Further reports by [7-9] concluded that this species had been extinct or rarely to be found
[10]. A later survey in a wide coverage area of sugarcane regions across Java by [11] in more than 930
sampling sites also did not discover this borer. More recent surveys on limited sugarcane fields in South
Sumatera [12] and Yogyakarta [13] also failed to find this borer species.
So far, the YTB is considered a minor pest of sugarcane in Indonesia [2,10]. In contrast, the borer
was reported as the important pest of sugarcane in some countries such as India, Srilanka, Pakistan and
China. The borer was known as a devastating pest, especially at the early sugarcane growing period;
therefore, it needs to be controlled. The crop losses are significant due to millable cane reduction as well
as the low quality of the juice. In China, [14] reported a substantial loss due to C. infuscatellus and T.
schistaceana combine in cane yield and sucrose content up to 45% and 6%, respectively. Some
publications in India reported losses due to C. infuscatellus attacks. This borer might kill a significant
amount of mother shoots and subsequent tillers up to 55% till 60% and 43% to 76%, respectively and
reduce cane yield by 16% to 43% [15-17]. Thus, the minor pest status of the borer in Indonesia might
be due to limited reports of the crop losses. The study aimed to describe the composition and distribution
of the shoot borer species attacking young sugarcane plants.

2. Materials and methods

Data of borer distribution were collected from surveys in the sugarcane fields from three regencies as
the main sugar producer areas in Indonesia namely Malang, Kediri and Pati. The survey was conducted
during the sugarcane postharvest seasons of September 2019 until August 2020.
The research was divided into two parts. The first study was the borer surveys to find out the
occurrence and composition of the borer species within sugarcane fields. Samples were taken from
sugarcane fields in Malang (12 districts), Kediri (two districts) and Pati (two districts]. Due to its
importance as a sugar-producing area and accessibility, investigation in Malang was a more intense and
broader area.
Only plants at the early stage of growth (1-3 months) were utilized as samples. Plants with dead heart
leaves were cut at the base and taken from the sugarcane fields to the laboratory. Additional parameters
were recorded during the survey, such as the agroecosystem, including altitude, latitude, sugarcane field
status and soil.
The insect borer and symptoms found in the sugarcane plant samples were examined in the
Laboratory of Entomology, Indonesian Sweetener and Fiber Crops Research Institute, Malang. Larvae
and pupae of the borers found from the samples were collected and reared until their adult emergences.
Borer identifications were based mainly on the morphology of larva, pupa and/or moth [18-24]. Along
with the borer collections, parasitoids emerged from larva or pupa were also collected and identified
[25].
The second study was more intensive sampling than the previous one. It was conducted at the
Karangploso Research Station of Indonesian Sweetener and Fiber Crops Research Institute, Malang.
Plants with dead heart symptoms were collected from sugarcane fields; then examined in the laboratory
to determine the borer species. Sampling was taken monthly from the young plants after harvested in
the 2019 and 2020 seasons.
Analysis of collected borers was mainly the borer species identification as previously described. Data
collected from both surveys were analyzed descriptively to show the species distributions and
compositions for both spatially and temporary. Qualitative data, such as borer attack symptoms and
signs, as well as sugarcane agroecology, were presented as descriptions.

3. Results and discussion

More than 1,000 samples were collected from the sampling sites in Malang, Kediri and Pati. As many
as 14 to 141 of plant samples from every sugarcane fields were collected and determined as the borer
activities. Besides those samples, there were many plant samples with dead hearts that could not be
determined their causes due to the lack of borer larva or pupa, without apparent symptoms or their poor
conditions.
The significant finding of the research is the existence of C. infuscatellus in the sugarcane sampling
sites. It disagreed with the previous studies and publications by [7-10] conveyed the disappearance of
the borer from Java’s sugarcane. Besides, five other borer species namely C. sacchariphagus, C.
auricilius, S. excerptalis, S. inferens and T. schistaceana were discovered along with C. infuscatellus.
All the borer shared the sugarcane shoot and the growing points. In other words, they exploited a similar
niche and competition might occur among the borers . A shoot could be infested by more than one C.
infuscatellus or T. schistaceana larva; in a few cases, both species might coexist at the same shoot.
 The borer species composition from sampling sites is presented in table 1. Generally, C. infuscatellus
was the most common borer species across the sugarcane fields and it was the major borer in 13 out of
15 districts examined. This borer species contributed around 92% within Chilo genus. So, it could be
assumed that 92% of the samples having Chilo’s symptom (289 samples) without any borer as the C.
infuscatellus infestation. Therefore, this species predomination increased from 50.1% to 74.4%.
Even though the YTB was found to be the major borer across the sampling sites, in few cases T.
schistaceana predominated the borer in several sampling fields such as Tumpang, Tajinan, Bululawang
and Puncu districts. There was no clear clue related to this borer species predomination. This difference
could be the result of several factors such as climate, soil and cropping system, which affected borers’
behavior, biology as well as population.

Table 1. Early shoot borer abundance and diversity in Malang, Kediri and Pati
District No. Borer composition (%)
sample C. infu- C. C. Chilo S. ex- S. infe- T.
scatellus saccha- auri- sympto cerptali rens schis-
riphagus cilius m s taceana
Malang, East Java
Karangploso 141 64.5 10.6 0 19.2 0 2.1 3.6
Singosari-1 29 3.5 10.3 0 86.2 0 0 0
Singosari-2 57 34.9 3.5 0 52.3 0 0 9.3
Jabung 45 55.6 0 0 44.4 0 0 0
Tumpang 57 21.1 1.7 0 5.3 0 0 71.9
Pakis-1 50 44.0 0 0 10.0 12.0 0 34.0
Pakis-2 47 59.6 0 0 17.0 2.1 0 21.8
Poncokusumo 55 45.5 9.1 21.8 15.0 1.8 0 7.3
Tajinan 69 26.1 0 2.9 20.3 1.5 0 49.3
Bululawang-1 14 7.1 0 21.4 21.4 0 0 50.0
Bululawang-2 63 61.9 0 0 25.4 0 0 12.7
Gondanglegi 52 59.6 0 0 28.9 5.8 0 5.8
Pagak 57 70.2 3.5 0 26.3 0 0 0
Bantur 71 62.3 4.4 0 27.5 5.8 0 0
Kalipare 62 50.0 0 0 41.9 8.1 0 0
Kediri, East Java
Wates 54 71.9 1.6 0 17.2 0 0 7.8
Puncu 54 26.6 1.6 1.6 17.2 1.6 0 53.1
Pati, Central Java
Muktiharjo 58 51.7 0 0 37.9 1.7 0 8.6
Ngemplak 40 47.5 0 0 52.5 0 0 0
Across 1,093 50.1 2.8 1.6 26.4 2.1 0.3 16.6
district

Chilo infuscatellus was characterized by its three longitudinal on dorsal and a pair of lateral strips,
which was similar to C. auricilius (figure 1a). However, both larvae of these species were different on
their proleg’s crochets. The first borer had an incomplete circle of crochets (figure 1b) while the latter
had the complete one.
Characters of entrance or holes, as well as galleries in the sugarcane shoots, could determine the
borer species. For instance, Chilo spp. drilled the sheath first, then continued consuming the shoot
upward or downward to reach the growing points and directly toward the middle of the hump.
Eventually, the base of young unopen leaves was cut off and the growing point was killed. Therefore,
the young unopen leaves could be pulled out easily with an unpleasant smell. In the case of T.
schistaceana, the larva started to drill the hump periphery and continued toward the growing point.
Generally, these two groups of borers were started drilling the shoots under or on the surface of the
ground. Sugarcane plants at the early growth period in plant cane as well as the stubble plants were
susceptible to these borer infestations where their growing points were situated under the soil surface.
In contrast, S. excerptalis started drilling from the leaf midrib and moved downward to reach the growing
point.
Severe borer infestations and attacks on plant cane occurred in Muktiharjo, Pati. Many newly young
mother-shoots emerging from seeds were attacked too early; therefore, they could not compensate by
producing new shoots and subsequent tillers. Eventually, gaps within rows within rows were created
(figure 1c) and finally it reduced the plant population as well as the millable canes.
Normally, the infested mother-shoots could compensate the killed shoot by producing new tillers.
However, a limited growing condition might cause severe losses due to this early shoot borer infestation
[9]. The limitation could be a water supply shortage or nutritional factors. In the case of Muktiharjo, the
water irrigation dependency on the rain was the limiting factor.

Figure 1. Chilo infuscatellus a). borer dorsal view, b). proleg crochets and
c). long gaps with dead heart symptom shoots

The agroecology of the sampling sites was shown in table 2. Ecological factors such as altitude, soil
aggregate, soil moisture, as well as sugarcane cultivar might play an essential role in borer composition
and distribution. As previously described that the borer might move underground to search sugarcane
shoots. The strong soil aggregation might cause difficulties in borer penetration and movement within
the soil. Thus, the physical characters of the soil, such as aggregation and moisture, might contribute to
this activity. This physical character was affected by irrigation, in which the irrigated fields would be
more moisture than the rain-fed one. The findings were in line with the previous studies that changing
in the C. infuscatellus distributions and abundances were affected by environmental factors [27, 28].
Simelane [26] study also showed that soil moisture and texture significantly influenced the pest survival
and reproduction of the root-feeding beetle.
Another important finding was 12% of the C. infuscatellus larva collected from the fields parasitized
by tachinid parasitoid. This number is a pretty good natural parasitation level and potentially can be
increased by augmentation and habitat management as well to control the borer. The use of natural
enemies in the sugarcane production system is appropriate for sustainable sugarcane cultivation.
 Table 2. Sampling sites agroecology in Malang, Kediri and Pati
District Latitude and Elevation Soil Irrigation Crop Cultivar
longitude (m) aggregate status
Malang, East Java
Karangploso 753'37.45"S; 616 blocky irrigated, PC, RC Bululawang,
11237'12.70"E rain-fed PA-028,
PSDK, PS-
862
Singosari-1 754'27.60"S; 573 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11243'29.61"E
Singosari-2 754'35.90"S; 529 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11240'46.40"E
Jabung 754'27.60"S; 571 aggregated rain-fed PC Bululawang
11243'29.61"E
Tumpang 8 0'16.80"S; 651 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11246'14.20"E
Pakis-1 757'7.20"S; 524 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11243'46.50"E
Pakis-2 757'35.40"S; 472 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11241'57.20"E
Poncokusumo 8 2'53.70"S; 778 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11247'49.20"E
Tajinan 8 3'13.40"S; 464 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11246'21.58"E
Bululawang-1 8 5'55.30"S; 430 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11240'17.70"E
Bululawang-2 8 6'59.00"S; 418 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11239'42.10"E
Gondanglegi 8 9'5.50"S; 404 aggregated rain-fed RC Bululawang
11238'2.40"E
Pagak 816'51.70"S; 507 blocky- rain-fed RC Bululawang
11229'47.50"E aggregated
Bantur 818'21.70"S; 351 blocky- rain-fed RC Bululawang
11233'14.30"E aggregated
Kalipare 812’1.20”S; 325 aggregated- rain-fed RC Bululawang,
11227’0.50’E granular PS-862, PA-
028, PA-
218,
Cenning,
PSDK
Kediri, East Java
Wates 754'5.50"S; 112 228 aggregated- rain-fed RC Bululawang
7'17.30"E granular
Puncu 748'53.60"S; 191 aggregated- irrigated PC Bululawang
11211'0.60"E granular
Pati, Central Java
Muktiharjo 643'42.92"S; 62 blocky- rain fed PC, RC Bululawang,
111 0'11.94"E aggregated PS-862, PS-
864
Ngemplak 635'8.85"S ; 22 blocky- rain fed RC Bululawang
111 2'26.42"E aggregated
Notes: PC=plant cane, RC=ratoon cane
 The second study showed that borer species compositions in the Karangploso Research Station were
dynamic across the sampling dates (figure 2). Monthly sampling was conducted from September 2019
until August 2020 with three months interruption on April to June 2020 due to the lack of plants at the
early growth stage. There were six species borers found during the sampling which were the same borer
species as the first study. Tetramoera and Chilo’s monthly composition changed obviously. T.
schistaceana was the predominant shoot borer during September 2019 to March 2020, with an average
was nearly 80%. However, the Tetramoera trend declined gradually in September 2019 to December
2020, but it reclined from January until March 2020. The three months of interrupted periods occurred
due to the sugarcane plants were in the maturing stage. Therefore, only limited numbers of young
sugarcane plants were available in the field. This situation may shift the predominance of the borers
from T. schistaceane to C. infuscatellus in the last two sampling dates.
Similar to C. infuscatellus behavior in the first study, not all plants with dead hearts caused by T.
schistaceana were occupied by the borer. Among 405 shoots with the infestation signs, only around 52%
occupied by larva or pupa. Thus, it seemed that these borers also moved from one to the other shoots to
complete their life cycle. This behavior potentially caused the damage more severe than the sedentary
one.

Figure 2. Dynamic of borer composition in Karangploso Research Station,

Malang.

4. Conclusions
The early shoot borer (C. infuscatellus) still exists in Java’s sugarcane plantations. This borer species is
a potential threat to sugarcane production. Further research needs to be done to investigate the borer
distribution across sugarcane producing regions nationally along with its potential losses due to the borer
infestations.

Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Haning Puput Suwastika and Miatun in Malang for assisting with the borer
collection and examination.

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