Incidence and control of ratoon stunting disease in sugarcane in New South Wales

Recent information that RSD can be soil transmitted (Autrey et al., 1991; Bailey and Tough, 1991) further explains the difficulty of control by presently-recommended procedures. Presence of RSD in NSW sugarcane crops has long been suspected and heat treatment programs of varying intensity have been established for seed cane at each of the three mills. This paper reports positive diagnosis of RSD in Harwood cane and results from a subsequent survey of RSD incidence in the Harwood and Broadwater mill areas. Recommendations are given for improved control of RSD in these areas.