Sugarcane weevil and Cane-Phorus: an IPM approach

Can pheromone trapping cut weevil numbers without leaning on insecticide?

Yes, and the trial evidence is striking. In pheromone-based mass trapping for the weevils that attack sugarcane and banana (Metamasius and the related Cosmopolites), a pheromone lure combined with cut-cane bucket traps caught on the order of 66 weevils per trap per week, against about 6 weevils per trap per week where only insecticide was used. That is roughly an order-of-magnitude difference in interception, achieved with a lure-and-trap system rather than repeated spraying. This article explains how weevil mass trapping works and how Cane-Phorus fits into an integrated pest management (IPM) programme for cane.

Why are weevils so hard to control with spraying alone?

The damaging weevils bore into the stem or rhizome, so the larvae develop inside the plant where contact insecticide cannot reach them. Adults are cryptic, active at the base of the crop and in crop residue, and they move between stools. Spraying targets a small, exposed fraction of the population at any moment, which is why insecticide-only programmes often leave numbers high, as the trapping comparison above shows. The cost and resistance pressure of repeated spraying add to the case for a different primary tool.

How does pheromone mass trapping work?

Many of these weevils aggregate in response to a pheromone. A lure releasing that pheromone, paired with a trap baited with cut cane or similar plant material, draws adults in and removes them from the breeding population. The published comparison is the headline result: about 66 weevils per trap per week with the pheromone-and-cut-cane bucket trap, versus about 6 per trap per week under insecticide only. Mass trapping works directly on the adult population that spraying mostly misses.

Cane-Phorus is the pheromone lure component of this system. Deployed in cut-cane bucket traps across the field, it provides sustained interception of adult weevils as the primary control layer.

How do you build an IPM programme around the lure?

Trapping is the backbone, but it performs best inside a few supporting practices:

• Sanitation: remove and manage crop residue and old stools that harbour adults and larvae, lowering the population the traps have to work against.
• Trap density and servicing: distribute traps across the field, keep the cut-cane bait fresh, and replace lures on schedule so release does not fade.
• Monitoring: weekly catch counts double as a monitoring signal, telling you where pressure is building and whether the programme is keeping up.
• Targeted intervention: where a hotspot persists, a focused treatment can supplement trapping rather than replacing it, keeping overall chemical load low.

The aim is to make trapping and sanitation do the heavy lifting, with any chemical use targeted and occasional rather than routine.

What are the practical benefits?

• Far higher interception of adults than insecticide alone, on the trial evidence.
• Lower reliance on routine spraying, which reduces cost, residue, and resistance pressure.
• Built-in monitoring from trap counts, so management decisions are data-led.

Frequently asked questions

Does trapping replace insecticide completely? Trapping becomes the primary tool and sharply reduces routine spraying, but a targeted treatment may still be used for persistent hotspots. The goal is to minimise, not necessarily eliminate, chemical use.

How many weevils can a trap catch? In the cited trial, the pheromone-plus-cut-cane bucket trap averaged about 66 weevils per trap per week, against about 6 per trap per week for insecticide only.

What makes the bucket trap effective? The combination of the pheromone lure and a cut-cane bait that mimics the breeding and feeding substrate draws adults in and holds them. Keeping the bait fresh and the lure active is essential.

Request a quote

Pheromone mass trapping is a proven, lower-residue backbone for weevil management in sugarcane and banana. To set up a Cane-Phorus trapping and sanitation programme for your fields, request a quote or talk to a Chemiseed agronomist on WhatsApp at +60 17-237 4058.

Sources

• Metamasius and Cosmopolites pheromone mass trapping, Springer Journal of Chemical Ecology: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10886-012-0091-0