A new sugarcane and rice pest that could threaten the Louisiana economy arrived in southern Louisiana from Texas in December. The Louisiana Department of Agriculture and Forestry, working together with the LSU AgCenter, trapped Mexican rice borer moths in fields northwest of Vinton, La., to detect the pest’s arrival in the state.Department of Agriculture and Forestry Commissioner Mike Strain said his department expected the arrival of the new pest because of its movement through Texas. “We keep a very vigilant eye working with the AgCenter, and part of what we do is watch for any emerging pest,” he said.Gene Reagan, AgCenter entomologist who assisted the Department of Agriculture and Forestry in the monitoring, detection and trapping of the moths, estimated the potential annual damage to the Louisiana sugarcane and rice crops to be around $250 million.Reagan said the species has expanded its range at the rate of about 15 miles per year, feeding off not only sugarcane and rice, but other grasses as well. “That’s probably how it got to the rice field in Vinton,” Reagan said.Reagan said the new pest is similar to a pest that already exists in Louisiana, the sugarcane borer. The main difference, said Reagan, is the Mexican rice borer flourishes in drier conditions that are more stressful for sugarcane, whereas the sugarcane borer prefers wetter conditions.Another major difference is the new pest is more difficult to control than its more familiar cousin because it bores into the plant more quickly, making it difficult to manage through traditional pest control methods. “They don’t feed on the outside [of the plants] nearly as long as the sugarcane borer, and that’s why they are difficult to manage,” Reagan said.The Department of Agriculture and Forestry caught the insects using a pheromone trap, which attracts male moths. Reagan said this method can detect the presence of the Mexican rice borer up to a year before the pests arrive in large numbers.Reagan said Louisiana farmers must use alternate methods to control the pest. “We’ll need to have varieties [of sugarcane] that provide a degree of resistance. We need to take good care of the crop so it’s not stressed,” he said.Kenneth Gravois, AgCenter’s Sugar Research Station director, agreed. “There are some resistant varieties. That is one of the approaches we’ll take to combat it,” he said.Fortunately for Louisiana sugarcane farmers, Reagan has already begun examining various sugarcane varieties for resistance to the Mexican rice borer at a research site in Ganado, Texas, in collaboration with Texas A&M University. –Contact Matthew Barnidge at [email protected]