Mechanisms of Resistance to Early Shoot Borer in Sugarcane

In Sugarcane, early shoot borer (ESB), Chilo infuscatellus Snellen (Crambidae; Lepidoptera) is a serious insect pest in peninsular regions of India and more vital in early stages of crop growth causing economic loss. The use of resistant varieties occupies a prime place for effective management of ESB as the chemical control methods have their own limitations in view of the height and lodging nature of the cane crop and these can be used as an adjunct to other suppression methods. Most of the studies were restricted to casual screening of germplasm on limited scale without considering the bases and mechanisms of resistance in promising sugarcane genotypes. Despite large scale screening of the germplasm,it has been felt that there is a scope for substantially improving host plant resistance in sugarcane to ESB through a comprehensive understanding of the mechanisms of resistance by which the ESB is either attracted or repelled from sugarcane.I hope the book on mechanisms of resistance to ESB in sugarcane and analysis of biochemical and biophysical basis would be useful to the sugarcane research workers and stimulate further researches to develop resistant varieties for borers.