The reappearance of the early shoot borer Chilo infuscatellus in Java’s sugarcane

Abstract Chilo infuscatellus is one of the earliest identified and reported borer species from Java’s sugarcane. The study aimed to describe the composition and distribution of the shoot borer species attacking young sugarcane plants. Field surveys were conducted in 19 sampling sites in the sugarcane fields in Malang, Kediri and Pati. The plant samples with dead heart symptoms were taken from fields to the laboratory to be observed the borer’s attacks and identified the species. The finding of C. infuscatellus in all field samples confirmed that this species did not disappear from the sugarcane crop in Java. Along with this borer, other borer species had been discovered, namely C. sacchariphagus, C. auricilius, Tetramoera schistaceana, Scirpophaga excerptalis and Sesamia inferens. Further study needs to be done to investigate the borer distribution across sugarcane producing regions along with its potential loss due to the borer infestation.