Louisiana, Texas Work to Prevent Spread of Rice Borer

September 2, 1999

Scientists are working to prevent Mexican rice borers from spreading beyond Texas into Louisiana. Traps to detect rice borer moths have been placed in the Beaumont, TX, area and in selected Louisiana locations. The rice borer can be a very expensive pest.

USDA's Agricultural Research Service and Louisiana State University are working with scientists in Texas to prevent the spread of the borer into Louisiana. The rice borer is native to Mexico and was first detected in south Texas in 1980. It costs sugar cane grower in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas about $10-20 million a year in lost yields. It also attacks rice, sorghum, wheat and forage grasses.

The borer is of concern in Louisiana because of a new sugar cane plantation in Beaumont. Sugar cane from the area will be sent by rail to Louisiana for grinding, but scientists hope to intercept the moths before the cane is shipped.

Traps being used will release a synthetic version of the female rice borer's natural sex attractant, or pheromone. This gaseous compound, developed by ARS scientists, will lure male moths into the traps. If moths are found in the traps, they will determine the extent of the invasion finding any moths could lead to an automatic suspension of Beaumont sugar cane shipments to Louisiana.