Comparative Evaluation of Two Anticoagulant and Two Acute Rodenticides in Sugarcane Fields

Field study was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of formulated baits of 0.005% brodifacoum, 0.0375% coumatetralyl, 0.005% bromethalin and 2% zinc phosphide against field rats inhabiting sugarcane crop. The efficacy was calculated on the criterion of reduction in rodent activity, damaged canes and yield of harvested canes. After five applications of baits, the rodent activity reduced to 90-96% except for zinc phosphide treatment where in it reduced to 76.04%. The counts of damaged canes on treated plots varied from 1.1-2.5%, while on non-treated plots, the damage ranged 13.0-29.9%. Yield of cane significantly increased (26.64-32.92%) on three treated sites except on zinc phosphide site where cane yield increased by 9.89%. It is estimated that one percent rat damage to canes is equal to 0.42% loss in sugar recovery. This study indicated that rodent control in sugarcane is economical and returns on costs ranged 27 to 50-folds.