Management of sugarcane scale insect (Melanaspis glomerata Green) in North coastal region of Andhra Pradesh, India

The scale insect, Melanaspis glomerata Green is a major pest on sugarcane affecting both productivity of cane and quality of juice. In a field experiment with cane cv. 93 A 145 at the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Anakapalle, Andhra Pradesh, India, revealed that among the treatments, sett treatment with acephate 75 SP @1g/It for 15 minutes before planting + spraying acephate 75 SP @1g/It twice at 30 days interval after detrashing the lowest 4 or 5 leaves just before the initial appearance of the pest was highly effective in reducing the incidence of scale insect (4.62%) as well as scale incrustation (126mg/cane) compared to untreated control (40.95%; 1190 mg/cane) and produced the highest cane yield (90.62 t/ha), percent sucrose (19.39%) and purity of juice (90.23%) as against untreated control (77.70 t/ha, 17.49% and 82.41%). This treatment was statistically equivalent with sett treatment with acetamiprid 20SP @ 0.2g/It + spray of acetamiprid 20 SP @ 0.2 g/It (5.24%; 131mg/cane) and also sett treatment with imidacloprid 200SL@ 0.25ml/It + spray of imidacloprid 200 SL @ 0.25ml/It (6.39%; 138 mg/cane) in reducing the incidence of scale insect as well as scale incrustation over control, respectively.