Jean H Daugrois1, Sharon A McFarlane2, Shamsul A Bhuiyan3 and Romina P Bertani4
1CIRAD, UMR PHIM, 34398 France
2SA Sugarcane Research Institute, 170 Flanders Drive, Mount Edgecombe, South Africa
3Sugar Research Australia, Woodford, Australia
4EEAOC, Las Talitas, Tucumán, Argentina
The XIII ISSCT Pathology Workshop was held together with the XI Entomology Workshop from 25 to 27 November 2024 in Salta, Argentina, followed by a two-day field trip to north western Argentina. The workshop focused on dealing with sugarcane diseases in the context of regenerative agriculture. The 77 workshop attendees were from 12 countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Colombia, Cote d’Ivoire, Cuba, France, Papua New Guinea, Réunion Island, South Africa, USA and Zimbabwe. The pathology section consisted of 20 oral and 22 poster presentations. A range of themes was covered during the workshop, from an update on the new version of A guide to sugarcane diseases to IPM that included breeding for resistance, tissue-culture plant production for nurseries, new diagnostic tools that included nanopore technology, NIRS and other tools, and increasing the accuracy and sensitivity of diagnostic assays. Pathogen diversity, transmission and evolution, and plant damage including cell structure and impact on yield were also discussed. The most cited diseases were ratoon stunt, leaf scald, red stripe, rust, smut, yellow leaf, and mosaic.