Location: Sugarcane Field StationTitle: Sugarcane smut and its control) Author
Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/21/2012
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A Interpretive Summary:
Technical Abstract: Sugarcane smut, caused by Sporisoriom scitamineum, is a major disease of sugarcane that is controlled by cultivar resistance. However the level of resistance must be higher in hot dry environments such as in Okinawa, Japan for adequate control. Since smut is favored by the hot dry weather, the breeding and smut screening programs and other control practices must address this local situation. The breeding program must emphasize parental clones that are resistant and clones that give rise to resistant progeny. The traditional inoculation procedure of immersing seedcane in teliospore suspensions for 30 minutes and evaluating genotypes in natural infection trials is essential and should be emphasized early in the cultivar development programs. Seedling inoculation has been evaluated and is used in some countries but it has not been universally adopted. Besides resistance, cultural practices of short hot water treating seedcane for 52 C for 30 minutes will reduce the incidence in the initial plant crop and may be beneficial when planting moderately susceptible cultivars. These and other methods of controlling sugarcane smut will be discussed.