The worst is the greyback canegrub, which is found around the Burdekin and Ayr districts of Queensland where chlorpyrifos, the only registered insecticide for its control, may be ineffective.
In small-scale trials by the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations and local growers, supported by CSIRO, the Sugar Research and Development Corporation (SRDC), and Bio-Care Technology P/L, Metarhizium has consistently reduced numbers of greyback canegrub. Cane tonnage and sugar yields have increased by about 30% in two trials where grub numbers were relatively high.