Heavy losses in grain yield due to severity of leaf hopper, Pyrilla perpusilla Walker, establish its major pest status of newly developed sorghum hybrids

In recent years, the sugarcane leaf hopper, Pyrilla perpusilla Walker, provided a classical example of changing pest complex on sorghum. A serious outbreak of Pyrilla on newly developed sorghum hybrids resulted in heavy grain loss. During kharif 1999, 38 newly developed hybrids and four released checks and two elite lines were screened for the assessment of loss in grain yield due to Pyrilla. On the basis of rating scale (0–9), Pyrilla damage in newly developed hybrids ranged from 5.0 (SPH-1215) to 8.6 (SPH-1205). The average yield per 10 healthy plants varied from 650 (SPII-1037) to 9.80 g (SPH-1187), the yield obtained from 10 damaged plants being from 58 (DJ-6514) to 266 g (SPH-1201). The average percentage loss in grain yield ranged between 69.07 in hybrid (SPH-1201) and 93.89 in check (DJ-6514). Amongst the newly developed hybrids, it ranged from 69.07 (SPII-1201) to 91.43 (SPII-1204). Such a magnitude of loss in grain yield established this leaf hopper as a serious pest of sorghum.