ARS | Publication request: RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RESISTANCE TO CLAVIBACTER XYLI SUBSP. XYLI- COLONIZATION IN SUGARCANE AND SPREAD OF RATOON STUNTING DISEASE IN THE FIELD

Submitted to: Plant Disease
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: March 21, 1996
Publication Date: N/A

Interpretive Summary: The paper provides data on a level of resistance to Clavibacter xyli subsp. xyli colonization necessary to prevent the spread of ratoon stunting disease in sugarcane during harvesting. Knowledge of this RSD resistance level will aid sugarcane breeders in developing cultivars with sufficient resistance to control RSD in commercial planting. The paper verifies the spread of RSD during harvest in relation to the cultivar's susceptibility which increased in each succeeding ratoon crop. The incidence of RSD infection decreases by plant position (distance) from inoculum source plants.

Technical Abstract: The spread of ratoon stunting disease (RSD) of sugarcane resulting from handcutting was monitored in plots of six different cultivars that varied in their resistance to the disease. Cultivar resistance influenced the spread of the disease. Less spread was observed in plantings of RSD resistant cultivars that have near zero numbers of Clavibacter xyli subsp. xyli-colonized vascular bundles (cvb) per 1-cm-diameter standardized core sample of stalk tissue. Disease spread in the rows was in the direction of hand harvest from infected source plants (inoculated) to test plants (uninoculated). The incidence of RSD in test plants increased with number of harvests through first-, second- and third-ratoon crops.