Chilo partellus (Swinhoe)

Taxonomic position

Insecta: Lepidoptera: Pyraloidea: Crambidae: Crambinae

Common names

Maize stem borer, sorghum stem borer

Habitat / Crop(s) damaged

Host plants recorded from different parts of the world include maize, sorghum, sugarcane, bajra, ragi, rice, Pennisetum glaucum, P. americanum, Panicum maximum, etc.

The larva burrows through the stem and kills the central shoot. The infested plants exhibit the characteristic "dead heart" symptom, with the central shoot drying up, red mining in the midribs, windows in the leaves, shot holes on the whorl leaves and boreholes at the base of the stem. Larvae cream coloured with brown spots.

Sugarcane is infested when it is grown adjacent to sorghum and maize.

Pest status

A major pest of maize and sorghum throughout India.

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