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Agricultural crops :: Cash crops :: Sugarcane

Smut: Ustilago scitaminea

Symptoms:            
  • 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.
     
  Whip like structure   Small and narrow leaves   Black powdery spores
Identification of Pathogen:
  • 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.
   
  Ustilago scitaminea  
Physical method:
  • 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
Chemical method:
  • 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

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