Managing sugarcane diseases under drought

Abstract

Sugarcane diseases perpetuate in the sugarcane ecosystem and cause damage to the crop depending on the prevailing environmental conditions. The disease severity is aggravated when the crop suffers from other stress conditions. The drought situation prevailing in the state is unexpected and continuous drought for the last three seasons in the region indicates the possible climate change effects. Diseased sugarcane suffers more during drought situations hence the industry needs to follow an integrated disease management in sugarcane to avert losses caused by the diseases. The fungal diseases like red rot, smut and wilt were responsible for the elimination of many elite commercial varieties in the past in different epidemics. Growing disease resistant varieties is the mainstay in disease management in sugarcane and introduction of disease resistant varieties after red rot or smut epidemics has saved sugar industry during several occasions. However, sugarcane varieties vary in their potential against different diseases and any elite commercial variety may not possess tolerance against all the major diseases. Although YLD has created a havoc to sugarcane cultivation in the country and SBI has evolved strategies to manage the disease through meristem culture combined with molecular diagnosis of the virus. Wherever appropriate conventional seed nursery programme through aerated steam therapy needs to be followed to reduce severity of GSD and RSD