A Padilla1, A Peña Malavera1, D Rodríguez2, P Pérez2, S Ostengo1, N Chalfoun1 and A Noguera1
1Instituto de Tecnología Agroindustrial del Noroeste Argentino (ITANOA), Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Las Talitas, Tucumán, Argentina
2Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC), Las Talitas, Tucumán, Argentina
Diatraea saccharalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), the sugarcane borer, is the most important sugarcane pest in Tucumán, Argentina, due to stem damage and sugar loss. Although cultural, biological, and chemical control methods exist, their effectiveness in the region has been limited. ITANOA, CONICET-EEAOC developed and patented Howler® (Summit-Agro), a biological product for sustainable disease management containing subtilisin AsEs, an extracellular protease with plant defence-inducing activity produced by the fungus Sarocladium strictum SS71. Trials under controlled conditions demonstrated that Howler protects sugarcane plants against D. saccharalis. This study evaluated the effect of Howler on the protection of the most widespread sugarcane variety, LCP 85-384, over three growing seasons. Howler was applied during tillering at doses between 4 and 40 L/ha, and treatments were replicated four times in completely randomized blocks. In May, three samples of 10 stalks were randomly cut from each plot, and the number of perforated internodes and the total number of internodes were recorded to determine the percentage of bored internodes reported as the D. saccharalis infestation index (II%). Results from the field trials showed that Howler can induce insect protection in sugarcane with a 4–5% reduction in II% compared to the control with a Howler dose of 40 L/ha in the different seasons evaluated. In conclusion, Howler is the first example of an elicitor-based tactic for controlling sugarcane pests under field conditions.