Home > Crops & Livestock > Crops > Sugarcane > Pathology > Mexican rice borer more dangerous to La. sugarcane than rice [Image: examining sugar cane] Gene Reagan, LSU AgCenter entomologist, has been studying the Mexican rice borer’s spread northward from the Rio Grande Valley for almost 30 years. RSD Testing Helps Keep Sugarcane Healthy [Image: RSD Microscopic Image] Ratoon stunting disease (RSD) has been a long-time problem for the Louisiana sugarcane industry. Disease levels are down now due to more effective healthy seedcane programs and disease monitoring provided by the LSU AgCenter Sugarcane Disease Detection Lab. Learn more about RSD and disease testing in this article. Plant Disease Management Guide [Image: disease guide] This guide for 2009 contains suggestions for management of the most important or more prevalent diseases of Louisiana plants. It includes information on fungicides, bactericides and nematicides, as well as safety precautions for using them.