SUGAR-CANE CULTURE FOR SIRUP PRODUCTION. 31 



away the warm and dry surface soil immediately before putting 

 down the cane. 



INSECT PESTS AND DISEASES OF CANE. 



The reader is referred to other publications for details in regard 

 to insect pests and diseases that are likely to infest sugar cane. 1 In 

 this more general treatment of the subject, however, attention will 

 be called to a few of the more dangerous pests and diseases that the 

 farmer should avoid if possible. 



The moth borer (Diatraea saccharalis) is by far the most destruc- 

 tive insect pest with which cane growers have to contend. It infests 

 the fields throughout most of the Louisiana cane belt and parts of 

 Texas. East of Louisiana it has been found in only a few rather 

 restricted localities. The moth lays its eggs on the leaves of the cane 

 and the larvae from the eggs bore into the stalk, reducing the yield 

 of cane and, much more, the yield of sugar or sirup from it and kill- 

 ing many eyes of the cane stored for planting. 



The mealy bug {PseudococcUs calceol&riae) comes next in impor- 

 tance in regard to the damage done in the cane areas of the United 

 States. It is widespread in the Louisiana cane districts and does 

 much damage to the cane. These bugs collect around the stalks of 

 the cane, mostly near the joints, and suck the juice out of the cane. 

 They are covered with a downy white fuzz, making it appear as if 

 the stalk were covered with a white mold. It is practically impos- 

 sible by any means yet worked out to eradicate either the moth borer 

 or the mealy bug when once they have become well established in a 

 cane-growing locality. For localities not infested, an ounce of pre- 

 vention is worth many pounds of cure. Great caution should be ex- 

 ercised to prevent their introduction. Cane for planting or other 

 purposes should not be imported to a free section from an infested 

 section except under the direction of an expert. 



Termites, also called wood lice and white ants, at times do some 

 damage to cane. They are most likely to occur where there is much 

 coarse vegetable matter in the soil, therefore in new-ground fields. 

 Fertilizing by dropping raw cottonseed in the furrow at planting 

 time frequently leads to increased damage to the cane from the 

 termites. They enter the growing stalks from the planted cane, 

 causing hollows which become surrounded with hardened tissue. 

 Usually, if termites get started in a planted stalk, they enter all the 

 young stalks sprouting from it. For this reason it is recommended, 



1 Holloway, T. E. Insects liable to dissemination in shipments of sugar cane. U. S. 

 Dept. Agr., Bur. Ent. Cir. 165, 8 p. 1912. 



Field, Ethel C. Fungous diseases liable to be disseminated in shipments of sugar 

 cane. In U. S. Dept. Agr., Bur. Plant Indus. Cir. 126, p. 1-13, 7 fig. 1913. 



