Proceedings of the International Society of Sugar Cane Technologists, volume 31, 379–384, 2023

Peer-reviewed paper

Reaction of commercial sugarcane varieties against

smut disease in Tucumán, Argentina during the
2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons

RP Bertani1, C Funes1, JA Lobo1 and S Chaves2

1Estación
Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC), Las Talitas, Tucumán, R. Argentina,
T4101XAC; bertaniromina@gmail.com
2Instituto
de Tecnología Agroindustrial del Noroeste Argentino (ITANOA), Estación Experimental Agroindustrial
Obispo Colombres (EEAOC) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), CCT
NOA Sur, Las Talitas, Tucumán, R. Argentina, T4101XAC

Abstract Sugarcane smut, caused by the fungus Sporisorium scitamineum, is a systemic, worldwide-
distributed disease. In Tucumán, the main sugarcane-producing region in Argentina, there were
smut epiphytotics in the 1940s, which caused severe losses and affected the main cultivated
variety. During the spring of 2020, the occurrence of drought conditions and high temperatures
favored the manifestation of smut in Tucumán. The objective of this study was to determine the
incidence of sugarcane smut in commercial varieties of Tucumán, including the new varieties of
the Sugarcane Breeding Program from Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo
Colombres (SMGCA - EEAOC), during the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons. In the
evaluated farms, the sampling area consisted of four evaluation points of 5 linear meters each
per hectare. Healthy and diseased stems were counted, and the percentage of disease
incidence was calculated. A total of 67 and 114 lots were evaluated during 2020/2021 and
2021/2022 seasons, respectively. LCP 85-384 variety was the most affected, with a maximum
incidence greater than 45% and 80% in the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons, respectively.
TUC varieties released by the EEAOC in recent years showed a resistant reaction to smut;
however, some varieties in specific lots reached maximum incidence values of 10% and 18% in
the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons, respectively. LCP 85-384, the main sugarcane variety,
although previously characterized as resistant against smut, showed susceptibility to the
disease in the two evaluated seasons. This highlights the importance of the development and
screening of resistant cultivars in breeding programs and the desirability of varietal
diversification in sugarcane fields.

Key words Sporisorium scitamineum, incidence, prevalence

INTRODUCTION

Sugarcane is a socially and economically important crop in Argentina, which produces around 2.2 to 2.5 Mt of
raw sugar, ranking sixteenth among the world producers (USDA 2022). Its sugarcane production takes place in
three regions: Northern (Salta and Jujuy provinces), Littoral (Santa Fe and Misiones provinces), and Tucumán,
which contributes to 70% of the total production.

Smut caused by the fungus Sporisorium scitamineum is one of the sugarcane major diseases worldwide, causing
significant losses in productivity (Comstock 2000).

Although the optimal conditions for spore germination are temperatures of 31°C and relative humidity (RH)
greater than 80% (Bhuiyan et al. 2009), the whip-shaped structure development is favored by warm
environmental conditions (from 25°C to 30°C) and RH between 50% and 60% (Mansoor et al. 2016).

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Smut does uncommonly result in a severe problem when it manifests. However, it could rapidly devastate large
areas cultivated with susceptible varieties even when the disease has been unnoticed for years (Comstock and
Lentini 1991). In Tucumán there is a precedent of a smut epiphytotic in the 1940s. In 1941, the Estación
Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (EEAOC) expended considerable effort to study the smut reaction
of its cultivar collection, and the most widespread variety, POJ 36, was highly susceptible. Between 1943 and
1944, this cultivar was seriously affected by smut after periods of frost and drought, causing severe economic
losses (Ploper 2010).

From the beginning of September to the end of October 2020, due to the La Niña weather conditions, Tucumán
was affected by a severe winter and a very dry and hot summer (USDA 2022). This situation favored smut
infection in numerous sugarcane fields, not recorded with infection since the 2013-2014 seasons.

The aims of this study were to: i) determine the incidence of sugarcane smut in the sugarcane-growing area in
Tucumán, and ii) evaluate the smut reaction of commercial varieties, including the new varieties of the Sugarcane
Breeding Program from Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (SMGCA - EEAOC), during the
2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

From October to December 2020 and 2021, the presence of smut was evaluated in the sugarcane-growing
region of Tucumán. In the fields evaluated, for each hectare, the sampling area consisted of four evaluation
points consisting of four rows of 5 linear meters each (Figure 1) (Chavarría 2006). Ten sugarcane varieties were
considered for the screening. Healthy and diseased stems were counted, and the percentage of disease
incidence was calculated. In the case of lots that presented less than five sori, the presence of smut was
recorded as less than 1% (<1%), without counting total stems and affected stems. Additionally, the prevalence of
smut was estimated as number of infected lots/total number of evaluated lots x 100.

Figure 1. Evaluation system for sugarcane smut.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

During the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons we evaluated 67 and 114 commercial fields, respectively. They
were distributed in 28 locations in the north, center and south of Tucumán province. The sugarcane varieties
examined are detailed in Figure 2.

Smut prevalence in Tucumán during 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons were 47.8% and 80.1%, respectively.
LCP 85-384, the most widespread variety (Aybar Guchea et al. 2020), showed 85.2% and 94.5% infected lots in
2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons, respectively (Figure 2). Although the smut prevalence in TUC 00-19 and
TUC 95-37 was 100% in the 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons, respectively, only one lot of each variety was
evaluated. This is similar to the differential responses among cultivars to two smut isolates in Australia (Bhuiyan
et al. 2015).

The maximum incidence values were detected in Burruyacú department in both seasons; the incidence increased
from 42.7% to 58.5% between 2020 and 2021 (Figure 3A). This increase was associated with the widespread
cultivar LCP 85-384 which had high level of incidence (Figure 3B) causing the presence of high levels of
inoculum in the 2021/2022 season. Additionally, in Burruyacú the total rainfall did not exceed 14.5 mm and 7.4

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mm during the spring of 2020 and 2021, respectively (https://agromet.eeaoc.gob.ar/), conditions that favored
disease development.

Figure 2. Smut prevalence in commercial sugarcane fields during 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 growing seasons.

A 2020/2021 2021/2022

B 2020/2021 2021/2022

Figure 3. A. Maximum incidence and B. average incidence of smut in the most planted variety (LCP 85-384),
during 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 growing seasons.

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The second most cultivated variety, TUC 95-10 (Aybar Guchea et al. 2020) behaved as a resistant cultivar
(incidence values that did not exceed 2%) (Table 1). TUC varieties released by the EEAOC in recent years
showed resistant reactions to smut (Table 1); however, TUC 03-12 reached maximum incidence values in
specific lots around of 10% and 18% in 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 seasons, respectively.

Table 1. Maximum smut incidence in sugarcane commercial varieties during 2020/2021 and 2021/2022 growing
seasons.
Maximum incidence (%)
Variety
2020/2021 2021/2022
LCP 85-384 42.7 58.5
TUC 95-10 2.5 <1.0
TUCCP 77-42 0.0 <1.0
TUC 97-8 0.5 <1.0D
TUC 00-19 0.0 0.0
TUC 03-12 9.7 17.6
TUC 00-65 0.0 0.0
TUC 02-22 <1.0 6.6
TUC 06-7 0.0 3.9
TUC 95-37 0.0 <1.0

According to the results obtained in this study, the disease was observed in all the sugarcane areas in Tucumán
(Figure 3 A and B), with variable degrees of incidence during both seasons.

The last report of smut in Tucumán province was during 2014 and at that time LCP 85-384 and TUCCP 77-42
showed only a few affected lots (https://www.infocampo.com.ar/detectan-distintas-afecciones-en-los-cultivos-de-
cana-de-azucar-en-tucuman/). It is important to highlight that LCP 85-384, released for commercial production in
Tucumán in 1999, was ranked as resistant against smut (Cuenya et al. 2009). However, in our study this cultivar
appears to show increased susceptibility to the disease in the last two seasons which may be due to
environmental conditions favoring smut. Shifts in cultivar reactions from resistance to susceptibility have been
observed, leading to a “boom and bust cycles” which gives rise to severe epidemics (Priestly 1978).

In Tucumán, LCP 85-384 reached a maximum of 83% of the growing area in 2013/2014. This area decreased by
15% in 2019/2020 season (Aybar Guchea et al. 2020) due to the released of eight new cultivars obtained by the
SMGCA – EEAOC (Ostengo et al. 2021) between 2009 and 2019. However, the area cultivated with the same
variety was still extensive and could have led to a shift in LCP 85-384 reaction from resistant to susceptible due
to the selection of more aggressive races of the pathogen. In a similar way, Benevenuto et al. (2016) found
variability among S. scitamineum strains isolated in Brazil and concluded that new genetic variants may appear.
Additionally, Deng et al. (2018) reported 3 isolates with different aggressiveness in China.

CONCLUSIONS

In 2020, LCP 85-384 became susceptible to S. scitamineum; since then, the inoculum pressure of smut
increased significantly over the whole sugarcane area of Tucumán. Although in recent years there has been a
progressive change in the distribution of cultivars in the crop area, this scenario highlights the importance of
breeding programs in the screening and development of resistant cultivars and the requirement of varietal
diversification in the sugarcane fields.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We thank Dr. Santiago Ostengo, Sugarcane Breeding Program Coordinator and Ing. Agr. Victoria González,
pathology chief, EEAOC, for their support.

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Comportement des variétés commerciales de canne à sucre face à la maladie du charbon au

Tucumán, en Argentine, pendant les saisons 2020/2021 et 2021/2022

Résumé. Le charbon de la canne à sucre, causé par Sporisorium scitamineum, est une maladie systémique mondiale. Au
Tucumán, principale région productrice de canne à sucre en Argentine, il y a eu des épiphyties de charbon dans les années
1940, qui ont causé de graves pertes et affecté la principale variété cultivée. Au cours du printemps 2020, des conjonctures de
sécheresse et de températures élevées ont favorisé l’expression de la maladie du charbon au Tucumán. L'objectif de cette
étude était de déterminer l'incidence du charbon de la canne à sucre, pendant les saisons 2020/2021 et 2021/2022, dans les
variétés commerciales au Tucumán, y compris les nouvelles variétés issues du programme de sélection de la canne à sucre de
l'Estación Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (SMGCA - EEAOC). Dans les exploitations évaluées, la zone
contrôlée était constituée de quatre points d'évaluation de 5 mètres linéaires chacun par hectare. Les tiges saines et malades
ont été dénombrées et l'incidence de la maladie a été calculée. Un total de 67 et 114 lots ont été évalués au cours des saisons
2020/2021 et 2021/2022, respectivement. La variété LCP 85-384 a été la plus atteinte, avec une incidence maximale de 45%
et 80% au cours des saisons 2020/2021 et 2021/2022, respectivement. Les variétés TUC libérées par l'EEAOC ces dernières
années sont résistante au charbon; cependant, certaines variétés dans des parcelles spécifiques ont atteint des valeurs
d'incidence maximale de 10% et 18% dans les saisons 2020/2021 et 2021/2022, respectivement. LCP 85-384, la principale
variété de canne à sucre, bien que précédemment identifiée comme résistante au charbon, a montré une sensibilité à la
maladie au cours des deux saisons évaluées. Cela souligne l'importance du criblage et du développement de cultivars
résistants dans les programmes de sélection et de la nécessité d'une diversification variétale dans les champs de canne à
sucre.

Mots-clés: Sporisorium scitamineum, incidence, prévalence

Reacción de variedades comerciales de caña de azúcar frente a la enfermedad del carbón en

Tucumán, Argentina, durante las campañas 2020/2021 y 2021/2022

Resumen. El carbón de la caña de azúcar, cuyo agente causal es Sporisorium scitamineum, es una enfermedad sistémica
ampliamente distribuida a nivel mundial. En Tucumán, la principal área cañera de la Argentina, hubo una epifitia de carbón en
la década de 1940 que causó pérdidas severas y afectó a la principal variedad cultivada. Durante la primavera del año 2020,
Tucumán atravesó condiciones de sequía y altas temperaturas que favorecieron la manifestación de la enfermedad. El objetivo
del presente trabajo fue determinar la incidencia del carbón en las variedades de caña de azúcar actualmente cultivadas, entre

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las que se encuentran aquellas liberadas por el Subprograma de Mejoramiento Genético de la Caña de Azúcar de la Estación
Experimental Agroindustrial Obispo Colombres (SMGCA - EEAOC), durante las campañas 2020/2021 y 2021/2022. En los
lotes evaluados, se determinó un punto de muestreo, constituido por cuatro sitios de evaluación de 5 m lineales por cada ha
evaluada en el lote. Se realizó el conteo de tallos sanos y enfermos y se calculó el porcentaje de incidencia de la enfermedad.
Se evaluaron en total 67 y 114 lotes durante las campañas 2020/2021 y 2021/2022, respectivamente. La variedad LCP 85-384
fue la más afectada, con una incidencia máxima superior al 45% y 80% en las campañas 2020/2021 y 2021/2022,
respectivamente. Las variedades TUC liberadas por la EEAOC durante los últimos años presentaron un comportamiento
resistente frente al carbón; sin embargo, algunas variedades mostraron valores de incidencia máximos de 10% y 18% en lotes
puntuales, durante las campañas 2020/2021 y 2021/2022, respectivamente. LCP 85-384, la principal variedad cultivada, si
bien estaba catalogada como resistente al carbón, mostró un comportamiento susceptible en las dos campañas evaluadas.
Esto destaca la importancia de los programas de mejoramiento en el desarrollo y selección de clones resistentes y la
necesidad de la diversificación varietal en los cañaverales.

Palabras clave: Sporisorium scitamineum, incidencia, prevalencia

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