Climate change impacts on sugarcane smut disease and its management

Importance of the work:
Environmental factors play an important role in the development of sugarcane smut disease caused by a basidiomycete fungus, Sporisorium scitamineum.
Objectives:
To discuss the impact of climate change on the development of sugarcane smut and the opportunity to develop a disease management system.
Materials & Methods:
A literature search and review was carried out relating to environmental factors (especially temperature and relative humidity) that can affect the development of sugarcane smut disease, which is favored by hot and dry conditions. This was related to an increase in temperature as one of the indicators of global climate change that could enhance the spread and development of sugarcane smut worldwide.
Results:
Smut disease has resulted from interactions among sugarcane as the host plant, the fungal pathogen and environmental factors favorable for disease development. A change of climate, typically indicated by an increase in temperature, could have a major influence on the incidence of the disease. In addition, the characteristics of fungal teliospores that can be dispersed easily by the wind would also improve its ability to spread and cause new infection. Therefore, the use of resistant varieties is the most appropriate control method for the disease. Furthermore, management of sugarcane trash could be considered to maintain the humidity of the soil making it less suitable for the survival of the fungus.
Main finding:
Resistant sugarcane varieties could be introduced supported by good cultivation practices, including the efficient use of fertilizer and incorporating sugarcane trash to the soil and decomposer amendment, to develop an integrated management approach to control sugarcane smut disease.