Monthly Archives: January 2019

Susceptibility of sugarcane varieties to thrips in Barbados

Louis E. Chinnery, Sandra R. Bellamy, Maria M.H. Agard, Nigel McA. Scott, Amina Adam, Michael P. Smith, Deryck S. Murray and Trudy Small for the 7th Annual Technical Conference of the BSTA 1989

In Barbados sugarcane is attacked by several pest species of varying economic importance. Of these the sugarcane moth-borer, Diatraea saccharalis (Fabri cius), the sugarcane root-borer, Diaprepes abbreviatus (Linnaeus), and the white grubs of the brown hardback, Clemora (=Phyllophaga) smithi (Arrow), are the most important (Alleyne, 1983; Alam and Gibbs, 1988). Currently, Diatraea is under effective biological control (Alleyne, 1983) but Diaprepes and Clemora are still problematic especially in the low rainfall areas after prolonged drought years (Alam and Gibbs, 1988). However some promising results have been achieved with an entomogenous nematode, Neoplectana (=Steinernema) glasseri, against both of these pests (Alam and Gibbs, 1988).

Susceptibility of sugarcane varieties to thrips in Barbados pdf

Insecticide resistance in Diamondback moth in Barbados

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Ian H Gibbs, Louis E. Chinnery and Jeffery E. Jones for the 7th Annual Technical Conference of the BSTA, 1989

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Yponomeutidae) is certainly one of the world’s most important pest species. It mainly attacks brassicaceous crops especially cabbage, Brassica oleracea L. var. capitata L., and cauliflower, B. oleracea var. botrytis L.. It is found north of latitude 60° in Iceland, throughout the temperate zone and in the tropics (CIE, 1967). Hardy (1938 cited by Ooi, 1986) suggested that it probably originated in the Mediterranean region which was also the evolutionary centre for the B. oleracea crops

All Brassicas contain glucosinolates which, when the leaves are damaged, give rise to bitter tasting and goitrogenic substances: isothiocyanates, thiocyanates, nitriles and goitrin. Selection, from the start of domestication, must have been for plants which were less bitter-tasting (Thompson, 1976). Unfortunately, this improvement in taste was at the cost of reducing the plants natural defense against pests.

Insecticide resistance in Diamondback moth in Barbados pdf

Present status of knowledge affecting E. postfasciatus (West Indian sweet potato weevil) management

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Presented by E.H. Alleyne at the 7th Annual Technical Conference of the BSTA 1989

E. postfasciatus (West Indian sweet potato weevil) infests both stems and tubers of
sweet potatoes. It is not quite certain how the adults are
able to reach the tuber in the soil, but it is speculated that
they either travel along the paths created by the roots
and/or enter through cracks in the soil. However, sweet
potatoes grown during the rainy season or in irrigated
ﬁelds, suffer considerable tuber damage by the weevil,
despite the almost total absence of cracks in soil. The
biology of the insect has been described (Tucker, 1937
Alleyne, 1982). ’

Present status of knowledge affecting E. postfasciatus management pdf

Mechanising Animal Cane – By Colin Hudson

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Presented at the Seventh Annual Conference of the BSTA, 1989

Introduction

It seems to be generally agreed by the sugar industries in this hemisphere that the use of sugarcane and by-products for animal feed is the most generally promising diversification of all the various ideas tried. Some years ago, Barbados was in the forefront of this development but we did not apply much of it. Others have now overtaken us. A few examples:

Mechanising Animal Cane – Colin Hudson – BSTA ATC 1989 Download

Science forgotten will be science repeated

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Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. – George Santayana

Over the years it has been observed multiple times that we have spent much time and effort doing research to solve our problems, but all to often the content of the report generated sit on a self and molder, not implemented and eventually forgotten, until another project is initiated to solve the original problem.

In an effort to play it’s part in helping to counter act this the BSTA will be publishing the proceedings of its Annual technical conferences here in a series call “From the Archives” , so that they will be accessible to any who may be interested in finding out what has been done before to address the problems in agriculture.