The sugarcane aphid, Melanaphis sacchari, was discovered late in the 2013 growing season in the coastal sorghum regions of Texas. Public and private crop protection partners have researched and learned a great deal about the pest over the last seven growing seasons, and today farmers are effectively managing the aphid. Occasionally, growers and consultants may refer to the sugarcane aphid as the ‘white aphid’ or ‘SCA’.

Diligence is key, and it is important for producers to scout fields and apply a recommended insecticide when the economic threshold is reached. Sugarcane aphids will only survive and multiply significantly in sorghum genotypes, including Johnsongrass, shattercane, sorghum-sudangrass, sudangrass, forage sorghum and grain sorghum. Sugarcane aphids will not survive on any of the major crops such as corn, cotton, soybeans or wheat. However, sugarcane aphids are distributed by the wind, so small colonies can be found in these crops, but at this time, they have not been found to be of economic importance. The sugarcane aphid that infests sorghum is a different biotype than the sugarcane aphid that is found in sugarcane but they look identical in appearance.

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Report sugarcane aphids here.

Grain Sorghum

Seed companies have now had multiple growing seasons to observe their hybrids and should have a good grasp of their tolerance level to sugarcane aphids. Growers in those regions where sugarcane aphid has been a reoccurring issue should visit with their seed company representative as well as seek advice from regional extension agronomists and entomologists when choosing hybrids.

When choosing a sugarcane aphid tolerant hybrid, all of the criteria used for selecting a non-tolerant hybrid should be considered. Growers are better off to plant a regionally adapted non-tolerant hybrid with good yield potential over a poorly adapted tolerant hybrid. Sugarcane aphid can be controlled with good scouting and timely insecticide application, if needed.

Current commercially available tolerant hybrids are not immune from sugarcane aphid. However, research has consistently shown that sugarcane aphids reproduce slower on tolerant hybrids and in some cases are able to withstand a higher sugarcane aphid population without a reduction in yield compared to susceptible hybrids. Tolerant hybrids should be scouted and an insecticide should be applied once the economic threshold has been reached.

Private companies and university sorghum breeders continue investigating tolerance and resistance. They have identified better sources of sugarcane aphid resistance and tolerance and these qualities are now incorporated into many commercially available hybrids.

Check with your seed company on which of their grain sorghum hybrids are most tolerant to sugarcane aphid. Several companies are now designating their most tolerant hybrids with a brand. For example, Alta Seeds brands their most tolerant hybrids with the APHIX brand.

Forage Sorghum

Unlike grain sorghum, there are only a few forage sorghum hybrids that have sugarcane aphid tolerance. With the exception of these few, at best, all we can say is that certain hybrids are less susceptible than others. On a positive note, companies have been working to incorporate sugarcane aphid tolerance into their forage sorghum, particularly those used for silage. For example, Alta’s ADV F6520, from its EMPYR Premier Forages lineup, has been given the Aphix brand signaling Alta’s ‘best-in-class’ option for SCA tolerance. It is expected that more SCA tolerant silage sorghum hybrids will be introduced to the market over the next couple of years.

In sorghum silage, Texas A&M University research has shown yield can be reduced as much as 40 percent prior to sorghum flowering if a high infestation of SCA occurs and is left uncontrolled. Additionally, quality of the silage is reduced, primarily because of a reduction in starch due to lower grain production. Both silage yield and quality are affected much less if the SCA infestation occurs after the grain milk stage. However, late infestations can produce honey dew in sufficient quantities that could interfere with harvest.

Below are seven videos that are part of our sugarcane aphid management series. In the videos, Sorghum Checkoff agronomist Brent Bean, Ph.D., summarizes the research findings into best management practices and next steps for growers.

Information provided by the United Sorghum Checkoff Program

There is now a Sorghum (Sugarcane) Aphid Smart Phone App for determining when a threshold level has been reached and an insecticide application should be made. The app has been in development for several years with entomologists input from Ok-State, Texas A&M, Kansas State and Louisiana State.  Tom Royer at Ok-State led in the development of the app.

The sampling and decision method used may be a little different from what you have been doing, but it has a great deal of data and science behind it.

The app starts by asking the cost of control, the estimated price for grain, and if the hybrid is tolerant or not.  Sampling then begins by examining a lower and upper leaf of three consecutive plants for aphids. If a plant has an infestation of 50 or more aphids, then you simply tap on the plant icon and it is recorded as infested. In the example below, plants 1 and 3 were infested with 50 or more aphids.

Once the three plants have been examined, the app instructs you to move to a different three plants. Once enough samples have been recorded, the app will make the decision to Treat or Don’t Treat. If the answer is Don’t Treat, then the field should be sampled again in 2 to 3 days.

In using the app, it takes a surprisingly few samples to be examined before a decision regarding treatment is made. I am not a technology wiz and found the app easy to use and straight forward. For more information, watch the short 4.5 minute video at Smart Phone App for Glance-N_Go for Sorghum Aphid on YouTube.

The app can be downloaded to your phone by searching for the sugarcane aphid app at the App Store or Google Play.

If you have any questions, contact Tom Royer at Ok-State–Email: tom.royer@okstate.edu or cell: 405-780-1346. He will gladly answer any questions.