Major Fungal Diseases of Sugarcane in North India under Climate Change: Red Rot, Wilt, Smut, and Pokkah Boeng
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.31033/ABJAR/5.2.2026.126Keywords:
colletotrichum falcatum, fusarium sacchari, sporisorium scitamineum, fusarium fujikuroi species complex, CF13, clean seed cane, disease forecasting, climate adaptation, subtropical indiaAbstract
Sugarcane supports farm income and the rural processing economy of North India, yet its productivity and seed-cane security are repeatedly threatened by four important fungal diseases: red rot, wilt, smut, and pokkah boeng. Red rot, caused by Colletotrichum falcatum, remains the most destructive because infected planting material, aerial and local spread, pathogen variation, and large areas under a genetically uniform cultivar can combine to produce severe epidemics. The breakdown of Co 0238 resistance and the spread of pathotype CF13 illustrate this risk. Wilt, mainly associated with Fusarium sacchari, causes progressive drying, stalk shrinkage, internal purplish-brown discoloration, pithiness, and characteristic cavities; mixed infection with red rot can intensify stalk loss. Smut, caused by Sporisorium scitamineum, is both sett-borne and airborne and is recognized by its black whip-like sorus, thin shoots, and excessive tillering. Pokkah boeng is linked to a Fusarium fujikuroi species complex and ranges from chlorosis and twisting of young leaves to knife-cut lesions and top rot. Warm and humid periods, irregular rainfall, waterlogging, drought or heat stress, and changes in crop phenology may alter the timing and severity of these diseases. Evidence is strongest for short-term weather-disease relationships; direct attribution of individual outbreaks to long-term climate change remains limited. This review focuses on Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand, Haryana, Punjab, and adjoining subtropical areas. It proposes an integrated framework based on clean and traceable seed, resistant-variety portfolios, rapid diagnosis, removal of inoculum, avoidance of diseased ratoons, drainage, balanced crop nutrition, need-based registered treatments, and district-level surveillance.
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