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Resistance

Relationship of Rust Severity and Plant Nutrients in Sugarcane. D. L. Anderson, University of Florida, Everglades Research and Education Center, Belle Glade 33430; J. L. Dean, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Canal Point, FL 33438. Phytopathology 76:581-585. Accepted for publication 3 January 1986. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1986. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-76-581.

The objectives of the study were to determine if the intensity of rust development on 12 sugarcane clones was associated with the nutrient status of infected leaf tissues and to determine appropriate methods for interpretation of rust and tissue analysis data. The Diagnosis and Recommendation Integrated System, in conjunction with nutrient concentration levels, was useful in identifying nutrients likely to be important in the rust-nutrient relationship in sugarcane. Regression analyses of tissue data and a variance-ratio approach both indicated that N, P, Cu, Mn, and Zn influenced rust intensity. However, only the variance-ratio approach defined nutrient imbalances and high or low nutrient concentrations within infected leaves that were associated with rust disease intensity. The results imply that in some circumstances, certain nutritional or edaphic conditions favor rust development on sugarcane and that control of rust may be possible by modifying the nutritional status of the plant.