Yaquelin Puchades Izaguirre, Joaquín Montalván Delgado, Osmany Aday Díaz, Omelio Carvajal Jaime, Eida Rodríguez Lema and Mérida Rodríguez Regal
Instituto de Investigaciones de la Caña de Azúcar (INICA), Carretera CUJAE, Km 2½, Boyeros, Habana, Cuba; yaquelin.puchades@inicasc.azcuba.cu; yaquepuchades@gmail.com
The sugarcane breeding program in Cuba evaluates new cultivars to determine their resistance to brown rust, smut, leaf scald, sugarcane mosaic, and red rot. In these trials, with high inoculum pressure, a set of control cultivars of known resistance are included to compare and assign a rating that describes the suitability of the new clone for commercial production. Resistance trials for brown rust and smut during 2020-2023 are reviewed and their effectiveness in assigning resistance ratings for the new cultivars is assessed. Brown rust control cultivars were differentiated into five resistance categories. Among the cultivars in commercial use, three were rated susceptible. In the case of smut, the control cultivars were differentiated into four resistance categories. Cultivars C120-78 and B77683 need to be reassessed as control cultivars to ensure the reliability of the resistance tests. A systematic review of procedures for estimating disease resistance will provide the best possible evaluation of cultivars and will allow updating the phytosanitary management of commercial sugarcane plantations.