Abstract

JIMENEZ, Odaliz  and  CONTRERAS, Nancy. Response of 11 sugarcane varieties (Saccharum sp.) to leaf scald Xanthomonas albilineans (Ashby) Dowson, and evaluation of two inoculation methods. Bioagro [online]. 2009, vol.21, n.2, pp.139-142. ISSN 1316-3361.

Leaf scald, caused by the bacterium Xanthomonas albilineans, is a major diseases of sugarcane (Saccharum sp.) and has been found in 65 countries worldwide. Varietal resistance is a factor of great importance in the management of the disease. In order to evaluate the response of sugarcane to Xanthomonas albilineas the varieties C26670, RB74454, CP742005, CC8592, SP724928, C32368, CR74250, RB855536, RB855113, RB855546, and SP701284 were inoculated using a bacterial suspension of 10⁸ cell·mL^-1; the control was treated with sterile distilled water. Two methods of inoculation were employed: injecting the bacterial suspension in a node of the stem or placement of a cotton swab impregnated with bacterial suspension at one end of the stem. A completely randomized design was used. The method of inoculation by the impregnated cotton swab proved to be the most effective. Highly significant differences were found among the behavior of the varieties, being CC8592 and RB 855546 the ones with the highest levels of susceptibility followed by RB 855113 and C32368. The variety CP742005 was the least susceptible.

Keywords : Varietal resistance; bacterial disease; susceptibility.