Burning sugarcane, Saccharum sp. L., before harvest is a common practice in Mexico. Survival of the crambid stalkborer Diatraea considerata Heinrich and its braconid parasitoid Macrocentrus prolificus Wharton were compared in burned and nonburned sugarcane plots at Los Mochis, Sinaloa, México, during 2008. Survival of stalkborers collected from stalk tops was 58.6% in burned sugarcane, but adult emergence was nil after surviving larvae were reared in the laboratory. In contrast, 89.5% of stalkborers survived when collected from burned underground stalks, and 39.5% reached adulthood. Parasitism by M. prolificus was 0.5% in burned stalk tops and 18.4% in burned underground stalks. This study suggests that individuals surviving in burned underground stalks contribute to increase in abundance of the stalkborer and its parasitoid in ratoon crops.
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Vejar-Cota et al. (2009) studied this question.
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