Detection of mixed infection of phytoplasmas and yellow leaf virus in commercial sugarcane cultivars and their impact on yield and quality parameters

Mixed infection of Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV) and sugarcane grassy shoot (SCGS) phytoplasmas was detected in seven commercial sugarcane varieties grown at Shahjahanpur districts, Uttar Pradesh, India on the basis of RT-PCR assay with specific primers pair SCYLV and nested PCR assays using universal phytoplasma primers R16F2n/R16R2, respectively. The mixed infection reduced the sugarcane yield of about 38% in variety CoS 08272 in which 5.37% of losses in brix and 6.16% of losses in sucrose were also recorded. The sugar purity was also affected.