Thirty-two years of smut disease status in the world’s largest sugarcane germplasm

Sugarcane smut is a fungal disease caused by Sporisorium scitamineum , which can cause severe economic losses in the sugar industry. Germplasm clones comprising of Saccharum spp. hybrids, and allied genera were monitored for smut infection from 1990 to 2022 for thirty-two years. Among the germplasm studied, the percent affected clones were maximum in S. robustum and the least affected one was S. spontaneum with only two clones during the period (0.52%). The disease was not observed in any of the allied genera. During the study period, the maximum number of infected clones was found in 1991 (42) followed by 1990 (28), and a maximum of 66 affected clones were recorded in the August months of the study period. Among the weather parameters studied, the maximum temperature had a negative correlation with the number of clones affected, and the age of the plant has a positive correlation.