EFECTO DEL ESTRÉS HÍDRICO EN EL BARRENADOR (Eoreuma loftini DYAR) Y LA CAÑA DE AZÚCAR (Saccharum officinarum L.)

Abstract

Water stress and global warming constitute a limiting factor for agricultural production. Changes in temperature, precipitation and CO2 levels affect the distribution of pathogens, insects, and weeds, and their competitiveness with sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.). The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of stem borer damage on eight sugarcane varieties over a five-year period (between 2017 and 2021), in El Mante region, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and its rela­tionship with the concentration of sucrose (%), in addition to considering the effect of climatic conditions such as temperature and rainfall on the incidence of borer and the sucrose content in sugarcane. For this study, random samples of 20 primary cane stems were obtained for each variety to count the number of damaged internodes and the sucrose concentration. The experiment was analyzed using a simple linear regression model for borer damage and sucrose, and a multi­ple regression model for the comparison of both variables with temperature and precipitation. The results indicate that in terms of sucrose concentration (%) and rainfall (mm), a linear relationship was observed with borer damage; on the other hand, no relationship was found in the interaction of temperature and precipitation with respect to the borer damage and sucrose content. It is concluded that borer damage has a negative effect on sucrose content and a positive effect on precipitation, in addition to the fact that the temperature and precipitation interaction do not significantly affect borer damage and sucrose content.