Update on the situation of Chilo partellus in Türkiye
The maize spotted stem borer Chilo partellus (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is a damaging pest of maize (Zea mays), sorghum (Sorghum vulgare), sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum), rice (Oryza sativa) and millets (Pennisetum spp.) in Asia and Eastern Africa. It was first recorded in the EPPO region in 2011 in Israel (EPPO RS 2011/197), and in 2014 in Türkiye in the East Mediterranean region (provinces of Adana, Hatay and Osmaniye) (RS 2015/101). It was further reported in Mersin province in 2018.
A study conducted in Adana province in 2019-2020 on the dynamics of the three maize stem borers present in this region (Chilo partellus, Ostrinia nubilalis and Sesamia nonagrioides) concluded that C. partellus has become an important pest of maize, in particular for the first cropping season of the year. The authors consider that the long and warmer winters aggravated by climate change could be the reason for the dominance of C. partellus over the other stem borers.
Sources
Achiri TD, Atakan E, Pehlivan S (2022) Invasive maize spotted stem borer Chilo partellus Swinhoe 1885 (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) is the dominant pest in maize agro-system in the Mediterranean Region of Turkey. Journal of Asia-Pacific Entomology 25(4), 101972. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aspen.2022.101972
Öztemİz S, Akmeșe V (2018) An invasive pest in maize of Mersin: Chilo partellus (Swinhoe, 1885)(Lepidoptera: Crambidae). KSÜ Tarim ve Doga Dergisi 21(4), 489-491.