Study of Major Sugarcane Disease, Pest Management Strategies and Its impact on Sugarcane Production in Bihar

Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum, L.) is thecommercial crop in the state of Bihar.With half of the sugar millin the state in the West and East Champaran Districts, these are the largest Sugarcane- producing Districts of Bihar followed by Gopalganj, Sitamarhi, Samastipur, Madhubani , Vaishali and Siwan.The area under sugarcane cultivation was 2.69 lakh hectare in 2013-2014 and it increased to 3.00 lakh hectare in 2015-2016, according to the Sugarcane Development Department . The sugarcane production was 176.10 lakh MT in 2013-2014 and 210.00 lakh MT in 2015- 2016. Sugarcane yields have been rigorously abridged in various parts of Asia as attacked by enormous number of insect pests and diseases. Changes in cropping patterns including the cultivation of high yielding varieties and hybrids have added to the problem in some areas. Plant breeding has been successful to some extent in keeping up with new and evolving diseases and pests. Innovation in agronomic practices, advent of chemicals for control, and more recently genetic engineering tools have been providing new opportunities for reduction of crop losses due to biotic pressures. Insect control is even more important as many viral diseases are transmitted by insects. The scenario of insect pests varies in subtropical and tropical belt of sugarcane. Top borer , shoot borer and stalk borer are found pre -dominantly in sub-tropical areas whereas internodes borer and early shoot borer are prevalent in tropical region.