SMUT EPIDEMIOLOGY STUDIES IN THE BUNDABERG-ISIS AREA IN 2006–2007

SUGARCANE SMUT was first detected in Queensland in the Childers region in early June 2006. Crop inspections were immediately undertaken to determine the distribution of the exotic disease. These revealed that by early November 2006, over 70 farms were smut-infested in the Bundaberg-Childers region. BSES recognised the economic importance to industry of transitioning from susceptible to resistant varieties and for assessing the speed of disease spread and severity escalation; farmers need to decide the economic consequences related to how quickly they change to resistant varieties. Accordingly, studies were initiated in late 2006 to assess disease spread across the Bundaberg- Childers region and the increase in severity of the disease within infested susceptible crops. This paper reports on that research and provides information to assist the cane farming community in decision making on the phasing out of susceptible varieties.