Microbiological aspects of sugarcane yield decline

Abstract

Sugarcane is an important Australian crop earning over $1.8 billion in export revenue annually. The crop is grown as a monoculture, and much of the production area has been continually cropped for over 60 years. Increasing production trends plateaued in the 1970s and soil based constraints now reduce industry income by $200~1 annually. The condition, termed sugarcane yield decline (YD), is similar to replant diseases in other crops. Large growth responses to soil fumigation, soil solarisation, and the application of fungicides, suggest that soil microbiology is intimately involved. Research has identified a previously unclassified oomycete, Pachymetra chaunorhiza, as a new sugarcane root pathogen. Additional root pathogens identified include Pythium arrhenomanes and various nematode species. Other organisms which appear to be involved in YD, are discussed.