Effect of Morphological Characters of Indigenous Sugarcane Varieties on Population of Chilo infuscatellus (Snellen) and its parasitoid, Cotesia flavipes (Cameron)

Abstract

S ugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) is presently considered as a cash crop in Pakistan due to high cash values (Hussain et al., 2007). However, presently many factors are responsible for its lower yield and marketing values in the country i.e., low per acre yield, sugar recovery and higher cost of production (Arian et al., 2011). Although, there are many reasons for the lower yield of sugarcane in the country, but the yield losses due to attack of borer is the most significant. Among the borers, stem borer, Chilo infuscatellus Abstract | Sugarcane stem borer, Chilo infuscatellus Snellen. has caused severe losses in cane growing areas of Pakistan. Among natural enemies, Cotesia flavipes Cameron has been widely used in different regions of the world for its management. Considering the significant role of morphological characters of sugarcane varieties on infestation of C. infuscatellus, thus, on parasitism of C. flavipes, this study was conducted in