Challenges and advances in sugarcane pathology - keys to resolve emerging issues and to formulate innovative disease management strategies

Abstract

The XII ISSCT Pathology Workshop was hosted by the ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute and the Society for Sugarcane Research and Development, in India from September 3 to 7, 2018. The meeting was organized by Dr. Bakshi Ram, and Dr. Rasappa Viswanathan both from the ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute. The XII ISSCT pathology workshop program had six sessions where the topics of discussion included host resistance, biosecurity, and current status, disease management, and pathogen variation. 64 abstracts of research and development were discussed in six sessions with 46 oral presentations, 12 short presentations, and 6 posters. Topics related to research and development in sugarcane diseases were presented. Two keynotes speakers were invited Dr. Phillip Rott from Florida State U.-CIRAD and Dr. Sing from the ICAR Institute. During the meeting, field days were organized to visit the ICAR-Institute, disease-screening greenhouse and fields, a factory farm, and different nursery field farms. The workshop was an excellent opportunity to interact with sugarcane pathologists from 11 countries and to discuss common topics of interest and concerns that the strength of the ISSCT sugarcane pathology section. New ideas, results, and prospects provided the opportunity to visualize opportunities and the needs for sugarcane pathology research and development.