RESEARCH ARTICLE Effect of Silicon and Nitrogen on Diatraea tabernella Dyar in Sugarcane in Panama Randy Atencio 1 • Franc ¸ois-Re ´gis Goebel 2 • Abby Guerra 3 Received: 21 March 2018 / Accepted: 9 June 2018 Ó Society for Sugar Research & Promotion 2018 Abstract The main pest of sugarcane in Panama is the stem borer, Diatraea tabernella Dyar (Lepidoptera: Pyral- idae) which can cause significant losses in cane biomass and sugar. The objective of this study was to determine the influence of two silicon- and nitrogen-based products applied at two rates on borer infestation. To compare the effect of these two amendments, a completely randomized block design was established comprising four treatments with four replicates. This experiment included 16 sampling units of 32 m 2 each. Measurements of borer damage, agronomic parameters, sugar content and for silicon, the content in stalk material were conducted to evaluate the impact of different silicon and nitrogen treatments applied in the field. The use of silicon-based products reduced internodes borer (% IB) by up to 50%, confirming the role of silicon in damage reduction. The use of high doses of nitrogen doses resulted in an increase in the damage level from 5.2% (control plots with 110 kg N/ha) to 6.9% IB (treatment with the highest dose of 210 kg N/ha). Keywords Sugarcane Á Silicon Á Nitrogen Á Stem borers Á Infestation Á Yield losses Introduction Sugarcane is one of the most important crops in Panama, creating jobs and providing sugar, alcohol and derivatives for both the domestic and export markets. Cultivation involves best management practices (fertilizers, herbicides, varieties, soil preparation and harvesting) to achieve the optimum productivity. A complex of diseases and pests infest sugarcane with the potential of reducing crop yields. Integrated management of insect pests begins with the use of best agricultural practices. Lepidopteran stem borers are usually cited as key pests in numerous producing countries, and in Panama the main species are D. tabernella (Lepi- doptera: Pyralidae), Elasmopalpus lignosellus (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) and Telchin licus (Drury) (Lepi- doptera: Castniidae). They cause significant cane and sugar losses in the industry due to internal damage and degra- dation of the sugar juice in the stalk (Esquivel 1980; Narvaes 1989; Gamonal 1989; Rodrı ´guez et al. 1999; Chaves et al. 2000; Sa ´enz et al. 2000; Go ´mez et al. 2009; CENICAN ˜ A 2012). Interest in the effect of silicon on pest infestation has increased in the last decade. Silicon in plants can induce stalk tissue resistance to the attack of various pests including stem borers (Vilela et al. 2008; Camargo et al. 2010; Pe ´rez et al. 2012; Keeping et al. 2014). In Costa Rica, liquid and granular silicon-based products are Paper presented at the VI IAPSIT International Sugar Conference: IS-2018. Sugar Crops Improvement, Biotechnology, Bio Refinery and Diversification: Impacts on Bio-based Economy, Charoen Hotel, Udon Thani, Thailand, March 6–9, 2018. & Randy Atencio randy.atencio@cirad.fr Franc ¸ois-Re ´gis Goebel regis.goebel@cirad.fr Abby Guerra abby.guerra@grupocalesa.com 1 University of Montpellier/CIRAD Research Unit AIDA, Montpellier, France 2 CIRAD Research Unit AIDA, Avenue Agropolis, Montpellier, France 3 Biotechnology Laboratory, Sugar Company, La Estrella S.A., Nata ´, Cocle ´, Panama 123 Sugar Tech https://doi.org/10.1007/s12355-018-0634-y