Disease monitoring in flowering clones of sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) germplasm: the largest collection in the world
摘要
Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) is one of the most important crops cultivated in the tropics and subtropics. ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Research Centre (SBIRC), Kannur, maintains the most extensive collection of sugarcane germplasm. The percentage of flowering was only 40.40% among the germplasm clones and flowering was observed only in 12.54% clones of S. officinarum, 30% of S. sinense, 44.82% of S. robustum, 30.95% of S. barberi, 53.34% of Indian hybrids and 53.09% of foreign hybrids during the study period (2017-21). Diseases recorded were ring spot, brown spot, smut, rust, stalk rot, pokkah boeng, seedling wilt and sett rot and yellow leaf disease (YLD). Ring spot was the major one, and rust was the second most important disease affecting many clones. The number of clones recorded resistance to ring spot was 60, 52, 10, 4, 394 and 212 in S. officinarum, S. robustum, S. barberi, S. sinense, Indian hybrids and foreign hybrids, respectively.