EVALUATION OF GENOTYPES/VARIETIES FOR RESISTANCE TO SMUT DISEASE UNDER ARTIFICIAL DISEASE CONDITION

摘要

Smut is one of the economically important diseases of sugarcane and may cause severe losses in sugarcane crop under suitable environmental conditions for disease development and spread. Physical, chemical and biological methods were recommended for the management of this disease but none of the method found effective to manage this disease. The only solution is to identify and evolve the smut disease resistant variety for commercial cultivation. To identify the disease resistant varieties the field experiments were conducted at VSI during 2009-10 and 2010-11 to assess the resistance of 78 sugarcane genotypes/varieties to smut (caused by Ustilago scitaminae Sydow.) under artificial disease condition. The observations regarding the smut disease incidence were recorded on fortnightly basis since germination to the harvest of the crop and the genotypes were classified reaction-wise. Out of 78 genotypes, 40 genotypes were found resistant to smut disease, while 31 reacted as moderately resistant, 6 genotypes reacted as moderately susceptible and Co 7219 reacted as highly susceptible.