Effect of silicon and nitrogen on Diatraea tabernella Dyar in sugarcane in Panama

The main stem borer in Panama is Diatraea tabernella Dyar (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) which cause significant losses in terms of cane and sugar in the industry.The objective of this study was to determine the influence of the doses of two commercial silicon and nitrogen based products on the borer damage. To compare the effect of these 2 amendments, a complete randomized block design was established comprising four treatments with four replicates. This experiment included 16 sampling units, each unit with 4 rows of 1.6 m x 5 m long (32 m2), with an average of 20 stools per replicate (512 m2) for the evaluation of borer damage, agronomic parameters, sugar and for silicon, the content in stalk material. The use of silicon-based products reduced the percentage of lntemodes bored (%IB) by D. tabernella by up to 50%, confirming the role of silicon in damage reduction. The use of inadequate doses of nitrogen resulted in an increase in the% I.B. ( + 1. 76 % I.B. in treatment+ 100 kg/N). These encouraging results are discussed in a perspective of refining borer management strategies in Panama