This is an important disease of sugarcane besides India the disease has been reported from other sugarcane growing areas of the world's.
In India the pathogen also attacks Saccharum sp. Which may be a Collateral host.
Symptoms of smut of sugarcane
In the field disease plant may be easily recognised by their long whipe like black short much covered on it self.
Firstly the powdery mass of teliospore on their while like Structure is contain by a fine membrane that reptures later exposing the black mass of teliospore.
The lateral shoots developing from the eyes on this infected cone may be also developed similiar structures after infection the damage of growing point of infected cone results into sprouting of eyes which produce lateral smutted whips.
The first symptoms are showing during may and June and second during october, November.
Smut of sugarcane
Smut of sugarcane causal organism
The disease is cause by Ustilago scitaminea
The teliospore are sperical, smooth, light brown in colour.
They are deposited at the function of leaf and sheath, from where they travel down the sheath and reach the model region and young eyes.
In the presence of moisture at the base of sheath, the teliospore germinates easily to produce promycelium and sporedia.
The sporedia are elongated unicellular and germinates to form hypha.
Promycelium some time instead of forming sporedia gives rise directly to branched bypha.
The Mycelium is mainly located in the meristem.
Controls of smut of sugarcane
Removal of smutted whips from the field.
To avoid plating of sets from smutted cane.
To avoid cultivation of suspectiable varieties as CO-300, CO-301, CO-311
Use of resistance varieties as CO-285, CO-365, CO-385, CO-499 etc
Disinfected of sets before planting the chemicals used are alcohol 0.25% mercuric chloride 0.17% formaline 1% and some systemic fungicides like vitivox, benlate, bavistin, a hot water treatment is also effected.
