Dr. Phyto

sugarcane

Saccharum officinarum

Diseases & pests on this plant

• Sugarcane borerDiatraea saccharalis

  Caterpillars tunnel inside the stalk, leaving entry holes plugged with frass; 'dead-heart' in young cane, weakened stalks that snap, and red rot entering the bore holes. Tiny egg masses sit on the leaves.

• Sugarcane brown rustPuccinia melanocephala

  Rows of small, elongated orange-brown to brown pustules on the leaf, mostly the underside, each with a narrow pale margin; severe rust dries the foliage and stunts young cane. Worst on susceptible varieties in warm, humid weather.

• Sugarcane smutSporisorium scitamineum

  A long, black, whip-like structure curling out of the shoot tip (the tell-tale 'smut whip'); affected stools are thin, grassy and stunted with many spindly tillers. The whip releases masses of black spores.

• Ratoon stunting diseaseLeifsonia xyli subsp. xyli

  No clear outside symptom — just uneven, stunted regrowth of the ratoon crop and thinner stalks, worse under drought. A cut stalk shows tiny orange-red dots or short commas in the vascular bundles at the node.