SMUT SPORE TRAPPING STUDIES CONDUCTED IN AUSTRALIAN EAST COAST PRODUCTION AREAS IN LATE 2007–2008

SUGARCANE SMUT has continued to spread to new regions during 2008 and more widely within already infested regions; the major spread mechanism is air-borne spores. In earlier 2007 studies, spore traps operating in un-infested districts were able to detect spores of the pathogen in the Mossman, Burdekin, Proserpine, Maryborough and New South Wales districts. In 2008, more extensive trapping was undertaken in some of these and other districts in order to determine the likely presence of the disease in un-infested areas. Spores were detected for the first time in the Mulgrave, Tableland, South Johnstone, Babinda and Tully areas, with disease symptoms sighted for the first time in Mulgrave, Tableland and Tully in the latter half of 2008. More extensive detections were made in the Innisfail and New South Wales regions and these have all confirmed the likely movement of smut to new mill areas. The finding of smut symptoms in crops in the Tableland, Mulgrave, Tully and Burdekin areas has confirmed the usefulness of the technique as an early warning tool. The disease is yet to be found in the Mossman, Babinda, Rocky Point and New South Wales mill areas, though it is highly likely that smut is present within these regions. Spore trapping is now planned for monitoring the intensity of atmospheric spore populations in more heavily infested regions as a means for assessing the progress, peak and decline of the Australian smut epidemic.