Traditionally, Louisiana sugarcane has been grown vegetatively from whole stalks, but innovations in machinery and rising labor costs have increased interest in billet planting. Billets, short stalk pieces containing several viable eyes, are more susceptible to pathogen exposure and may require fungicide and/or insecticide applications at planting to increase stand potential. Work in other crops indicates such treatments may alter arthropod predator abundance, so the goal of this study was to evaluate the potential non-target effects of select treatments at planting on the red important fire ant (RIFA), Solenopsis invicta, and other arthropod predators of the sugarcane borer, Diatraea saccharalis, in sugarcane. We sampled predators and measured biological control potential in plots treated with a neonicotinoid insecticide and/or fungicide applied as in-furrow sprays or seed cane dips. We then assessed RIFA worker survival and behavior following 48 h exposure in the laboratory. With the exception of one in-furrow sprayed field trial, treatments did not significantly impact RIFA numbers. Treatments did not impact the abundance of other predator groups or biological control potential (borer damage and sentinel egg predation) in any field trial. Laboratory assessments indicated no treatment effect on RIFA behavior metrics after exposure but had mixed results on survival depending on application method. Our data indicate that these seed cane treatments may not disrupt biological control and the greater epigeal arthropod predator community in Louisiana sugarcane. However, tests should be replicated under different environmental conditions to ensure biological control, particularly by RIFA, is maintained with larger-scale use.

传统上，路易斯安那州的甘蔗是从整根茎中无性种植的，但机械的创新和不断上升的劳动力成本增加了人们对甘蔗种植的兴趣。含有多个活眼的短茎块更容易受到病原体的影响，可能需要在种植时使用杀真菌剂和/或杀虫剂以增加林分潜力。对其他作物的研究表明，此类处理可能会改变节肢动物捕食者的丰度，因此本研究的目的是评估种植时选择处理对红火蚁 (RIFA)、红火蚁和其他节肢动物捕食者的潜在非目标影响甘蔗蛀虫，Diatraea saccharalis, 在甘蔗中。我们对捕食者进行了采样，并测量了用新烟碱类杀虫剂和/或杀菌剂作为犁沟内喷雾剂或种子甘蔗浸渍剂处理过的地块的生物控制潜力。然后，我们评估了 RIFA 工人在实验室暴露 48 小时后的存活率和行为。除了一项犁沟内喷洒田间试验外，处理并未显着影响红火蚁数量。在任何田间试验中，处理都不会影响其他捕食者群体的数量或生物控制潜力（蛀虫伤害和哨兵卵捕食）。实验室评估表明，处理对暴露后的红火蚁行为指标没有影响，但根据应用方法的不同，对生存的影响参差不齐。我们的数据表明，这些种子甘蔗处理可能不会破坏路易斯安那州甘蔗的生物控制和更大的表生节肢动物捕食者群落。然而，应在不同的环境条件下重复进行测试，以确保生物控制，特别是通过红火蚁进行的生物控制在大规模使用时得以维持。