DISTRIBUTION OF SUGARCANE YELLOW LEAF VIRUS (SCYLV) IN COMMERCIAL CULTIVARS IN MAURITIUS AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPACT ON YIELD

Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (ScYLV) is present in most sugarcane producing countries and has been shown to be the cause of yellow leaf disease of sugarcane. This study focused on the distribution of ScYLV in commercial sugarcane varieties in Mauritius and attempted to assess its impact on cane and sucrose yields of three varieties: M52/78 (early maturing), M1400/86 (middle maturing) and M2593/92 (late maturing). An island-wide survey of 88 fields planted with 20 different varieties revealed that ScYLV was widely distributed in all varieties except M1176/77 which always tested negative for the presence of the virus by tissue blot immunoassay (TBIA) and reverse transcriptase PCR. The incidence of ScYLV did not reflect that of the aphid vector Melanaphis sacchari which was collected from 8% of fields only, implying that the main cause of the spread of the virus in Mauritius was infected cane setts. The potential impact of yellow leaf on Mauritian cultivars was assessed by measuring and comparing yield parameters of TBIA positive and TBIA negative cane stool samples in a pair wise design under commercial field conditions. This study showed that, for plant cane, yields were comparable for varieties M52/78, M1400/86 while, in M2593/92, TBIA positive stools had higher sucrose content but lower weight than TBIA negative stools. These findings highlight the need for additional research on the main commercial varieties of sugarcane in order to determine the economic importance of the disease in Mauritius.

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