Abstract
The sugarcane planthopper (SCPH)Pyrilla perpusilla is a serious sap-sucking pest of sugarcane in Sri Lanka. Several outbreaks of the pest have been recorded during the past despite the role of indigenous natural biocontrol agents. Several releases of eggs of the parasitoid mothEpiricania melanoleuca into two sugarcane plantations showed that the parasitoid established and controlled the SCPH effectively within a period of 1–2 years. Post-release population estimates revealed that the higher levels of SCPH populations (68 individuals per leaf) were brought under control (below one individual per leaf) and maintained by the parasitoid successfully during the subsequent five-year period. The parasitoid naturally dispersed and established within a period of two years in other sugarcane plantations too, located more than 50 km away from the released fields, confirming its efficiency as a bio-control agent on the SCPH.
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Seneviratne, J.A.U.T., Kumarasinghe, N.C. Biological control of the sugarcane planthopper by the mothEpiricania melanoleuca (fletcher) in Sri Lanka. Sugar Tech 4, 26–32 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02956876
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02956876