Pacific Pests, Pathogens & Weeds - Mini Fact Sheet Edition

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Sugarcane red rot (221)

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Photo 1. External red blotches on sugarcane stems caused by red rot, Glomerella tucumanensis.

Photo 2. Internal symptoms of red rot, Glomerella tucumanensis, in a sugarcane stem.

Photo 3. Red rot, Glomerella tucumanensis, showing symptoms of the fungus in the midrib of a sugarcane leaf. The small spots on the leaf blade are probably white rash. (see Fact Sheet no. 220.)

Summary

• Worldwide distribution. On sugarcane, maize and sorghum, crop relatives and wild species. Important fungal disease.
• Infections through nodes and wounds. Large red external patches, and internal rots with white spots at right angles to stem. Leaves yellow, dry and die.
• Spread in setts, and by water-splashed spores.
• Cultural control: setts only from healthy fields; avoid planting in dry or wet times; treat setts in hot water (50°C for 2 hours); avoid soils that waterlog; avoid overlapping crops; tolerant varieties; collect trash and burn after harvest.
• Chemical control: none recommended; not an economic option.

Common Name

Sugarcane red rot

Scientific Name

Glomerella tucumanensis; different strains are reported that vary in their ability to cause disease. The fungus is also known as Colletotrichum fulcatum; this produces spores without going through a sexual process.

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