Diseases and reaction of clones of Saccharum spontaneum and Erianthus spp. of the world collection of sugarcane germplasm

ICAR-Sugarcane Breeding Institute, Research Centre, Kannur, maintains the world's most extensive collection (3375) of Saccharum spp, varieties and allied genera. Wild sugarcane, Saccharum spontaneum and allied genera Erianthus spp. are considered resistant sources to various biotic and abiotic stresses. Considering the importance of disease resistance in breeding programmes, we monitored and surveyed various foliar diseases of 516 wild germplasm clones at Kannur that is congenial for the severe occurrence of foliar diseases. Brown spot, ring spot, orange rust and smut were recorded in S. spontaneum clones, whereas only Pokkah boeng was recorded in Erianthus spp. All the S. spontaneum clones were found to be resistant to ring spot disease except one clone, Ponape 3, which showed an intermediate reaction. About 41.14% of the clones showed resistance to brown spot and 98% to orange rust. Only two clones, IND 85-497 and IND 85-522, showed Smut. All clones of Erianthus were free from these diseases, probably indicating resistance to them and only one clone IJ 76-172 exhibited the symptoms of Pokkah boeng. In the controlled condition testing (CCT) with a number of collections of S. spontaneum and Erianthus spp, most clones were found to be resistant or moderately resistant to red rot and only a few clones showed susceptible reaction. The present study confirmed that most of the clones of the wild species are resistant various diseases. These clones could be effectively used in resistance breeding programmes to develop high-yielding sugarcane varieties with disease resistance.