Sorghum shoot fly
Seedlings one to four weeks old show dead hearts, where the center leaf dries and pulls out easily while the outer leaves stay green.
Crops it attacks
Where the damage shows
When to act
From 7 to 30 days after emergence, check 20 seedlings at each of five spots twice a week for small white eggs under the leaves and for dead hearts. Once a dead heart shows the maggot is inside and a spray comes too late, so the real decision is treated seed and an early planting date.
What to spray
- Thiamethoxam (seed treatment)IRAC 4AShopeeLazada
- Thiamethoxam plus cyantraniliprole (seed treatment)IRAC 4A plus 28ShopeeLazada
Active ingredients only, never brands. The IRAC group tells how it works: switch to a different group next time, so the pest does not learn to survive it. Spray only when the damage is worth the cost, and only with products registered with the Fertilizer and Pesticide Authority for your crop. Follow the label. The Shopee and Lazada links only show who sells something with that active ingredient, not a recommendation of any seller or product.
How to prevent it
- Plant early in the season and all at once with nearby fields: late sorghum gets the most shoot fly.
- Use treated seed, sow a little extra, and thin out the seedlings with dead hearts.
- Choose glossy leaved, tolerant varieties where sold. The fly lays fewer eggs on them.
- Set fishmeal bait traps around young fields to catch the flies.
- Pull and destroy dead hearts, and clear volunteer sorghum and grassy weeds that carry the fly between crops.
Natural enemies and biological help
- Egg wasps, spiders and ants kill many eggs and maggots. Avoid broad sprays at emergence.
Where this comes from
Not sure it is this one?
Many pests look alike. Send a photo to Anee, the smart farm technician in anee.io. She reads it with your crop, its age and the weather, and tells you what it most likely is and what to do first. In Tagalog or English.