157 



such canes is ever harvested, the other three being killed. The problem 

 in these areas, therefore, is to evolve a variety of sugar-cane that can 

 be planted at the time of the breaking of the monsoon, or even after it, 

 without ripening later than the canes at present grown. This can 

 probably be done by selection of the tillers that grow late, but ripen 

 at the same time as the parent canes. 



Khare (J. L.). Note on Sugar-cane Borers in the Central Provinces. — 



Rept. Proc. 4th Ent. Meeting, Pusa, February 1921, Calcutta, 

 1921, pp. 137-142. 



Sugar-cane is grown far less extensively in the Central Provinces 

 than it was fifty years ago, the reasons for this decrease being largely 

 economic. Many improvements have, however, been effected in the 

 crop, among the chief being the introduction of foreign varieties. 

 The best of these are mostly thick and high yielding, and therefore 

 more susceptible to insect attack than the harder and low-yielding 

 thin canes. Experiments to determine the relation of these intro- 

 duced varieties to stem-borer attacks have shown that early planting 

 gives greater immunity. A table shows the relative immunity of 

 different varieties to stem-borers. Thje time of planting is an 

 important factor in determining the extent of attack by stem-borers, 

 the indications being that cane planted in October gives a much 

 larger yield than that planted in February and March, as it gets a 

 good start before the hot weather and before the moths become active. 

 Borer damage all occurs between February and June, but is not 

 found in cane that is already four to five feet high in February. The 

 yield produced by planting both thick and thin canes at different 

 dates is shown in a table, and proves that much damage is done to 

 thick canes during the hot weather. 



A survey was held in 1919-20 to ascertain the species of sugar-cane 

 pests involved, their distribution in the sugar-cane areas, and their 

 preferences for particular varieties of cane. The results gathered from 

 40 localities are tabulated. The species found were Diatraea auricilia, 

 Emmalocera {Papua) depressella, Scirpophaga xanthogastrella {auriflua), 

 Sesamia uniformis and S. inferens. Chilo simplex was not found at all. 

 These moths attacked any variety of cane. 



Jhaveri (T. N.). Juar Stem-borers {Chilo simplex and Sesamia 

 inferens). — Rept. Proc. 4th Ent. Meeting, Pusa, February 1921, 

 Calcutta, 1921, pp. 143-147. 



The stem-borers, Chilo simplex and Sesamia inferens, are the cause 

 of much deterioration of the monsoon crop of Sorghum in the Surat 

 district. The former infests chiefly the seedling stage, so that the 

 crops sometimes have to be resown once or twice. During July and 

 August, and perhaps early September, the attack is severe ; later in 

 September Tachinid parasites begin to outnumber the pest, and by 

 November very few remain in the stalk. Meantime S. inferens 

 begins to gain ground ; it appears in September, increases rapidly in 

 October and November, and rests in the larval stage during December 

 and January, according to the severity of the winter. In the summer, 

 it breeds in sprouted shoots coming out from the sides of Sorghum 

 stumps remaining in the ground. 



As a measure against C. simplex, affected plants were removed at 

 the first and second thinnings of the crop. Where too many gaps 



