• Production of whip like structure ( 25 – 150 cm) from the growing point of the canes.
• Whip covered by translucent silvery membrane enclosing mass of black powdery spores.
• Initial thin canes with elongated internodes later become reduced in length.
• Profuse sprouting of lateral buds with narrow, erect leaves especially in ratoon crop.

• The fungal mycelium spores are echinulate, light brown and spherical, measuring 6.5 – 8.5 µ in diameter.
• They germinate readily in water, producing 2-3 celled promycelia.
• Sporidia arise terminally or laterally and are hyaline, thin walled, single celled and elliptical to linear.

Management strategies:

Cultural method:

• Growing of resistant and moderately resistant varieties viz., Co 86249, CoG 93076, CoC 22, CoSi 6 and CoG 5
• Discourage ratooning of the diseased crops having more than 10 per cent infection
• Cajanus cajan can be grown as a companion crop between rows of sugarcane, and the secondary spread of the disease is substantially reduced.

• Treating the seed setts with Areated Steam Therapy (AST) at 50 ºC for 1 hour or in hot water at 50 ºC for 30 minutes or at 52 ºC for 18 minutes
• Roguing of smut whips with gunny bags/polythene bag and dipped in boiling water for 1 hour, and diseased clums must be uprooted and burnt

• Sett treatment with fungicides viz., Triadimefon @ 1gm in 1 litre of water or Carbendazim @ 1gm in 1 litre of water for 10 minutes.
• Spray on infected stools with a small amount of a 10% solution of roundup, using a small hand held sprayer.
• In severe cases spray the entire block with glyphosate (360 G/L) at 5-7 lit/ha