Method to evaluate spittlebug (Hemiptera: Cercopidae) damage on sugar cane Saccharum spp.

Spittlebugs, among them Aeneolamia varia, are one of the greatest limits to the production of sugar cane in America. The detection of this species in the Cauca Valley in 2007 generated a series of investigations to confront this problem. One of them was the search for host plant resistance to this pest. Therefore we sought to adapt a methodology for evaluating the attack of spittlebugs on sugar cane. Due to the pest's quarantine situation, Zulia carbonaria, another spittlebug species present in the region, was used instead. For customizing the methodology we used the sugar cane varieties CC 84 - 75 and CC 85 - 92. Three experiments were carried out in a factorial arrangement under a completely randomized design, to determine basic aspects such as: type of container for the development of secondary surface roots necessary for the first nymphal stages; age of the plant to infest with spittlebug nymphs; and optimal infestation density per plant. The results indicated that the best expression of damage was when infestation was with eight eggs of Z. carbonaria on plants that were 12 weeks old since transplanting, with a root development index of at least three, this using a PVC container as a pot, an adjustable cap of the same material, and a base of polystyrene. The resultant methodology, with a few adjustments in terms of the density of infestation, could be used with A. varia and other spittlebugs in sugar cane.