The Louisiana Sugarcane harvest is underway and the state’s Agriculture Commissioner, Mike Strain, says it is going well. Heading into the season there was a concern about the pasture mealybug, an invasive species first identified in Louisiana last year. Strain says the small, white pest likes to drink sugar.
“It loves sugar. It’s got a sweet tooth. But it can drain the sugar out of the cane, and we were concerned that in certain areas we would have very low sugar; but that’s not the case,” Strain said.
The LSU AgCenter says the pasture mealybug has been detected in every parish that grows sugar, most severely in West Baton Rouge, Iberia and Vermilion parishes.
Insecticides have helped with control, but the insecticides don’t kill the ones in the soil and reinfestation occurs within a couple of weeks. Researchers in Louisiana and Florida are working on a solution.
This is week four of the sugarcane harvest and Strain says it’s going smoothly. It helps that Louisiana has avoided any major storms.
“The sugar’s been coming in very well; harvest has been coming in very well. The price is stabilizing, so it looks very good and very bright now,” Strain noted.
According to the American Sugarcane League, all but one of the eleven mills are in operation. Strain says there is a shortage of truck drivers because of the cap the federal government has placed on H-2B visas.
“Of course, those jobs are offered to Americans first, but we can’t get the drivers in because of some bureaucratic issues dealing with new rules that are in place,” Strain explained.
Strain is also urging motorists in south Louisiana to drive with care in areas where sugarcane harvest activity is occurring. Last week, two people were killed in St. Martinville when a passenger car collided with two sugarcane tractors.
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