Evaluation of BC1 and BC2 from the crossing Erianthus arundinaceus with Saccharum for resistance to sugarcane smut caused by Sporisorium scitamineum

Sugarcane smut disease caused by the fungus Sporisorium scitamineum is one of the important fungal diseases affecting sugarcane yield and sucrose content around the world. Cultivar resistance is the most appropriate control method for this disease. In this study, 37 BC1 lines chosen from the crossing YC96-40 (F1 of Erianthus arundinaceus) × CP84-1198 (commercial sugarcane cultivar) and 42 BC2 lines chosen from the crossing YCE01-116 (BC1 of E. arundinaceus) × Neijiang57-416 (commercial sugarcane cultivar) were evaluated for smut resistance using artificial inoculation. The results showed that of 79 tested BC1 and BC2 lines of E. arundinaceus, 10 (12.7%) were highly to moderately resistant to smut. BC1 of E. arundinaceus had more resistant lines than BC2 of E. arundinaceus. Of the 37 tested BC1 lines of E. arundinaceus, seven (18.9%) were highly to moderately resistant, while three (7.1%) of the 42 tested BC2 lines of E. arundinaceus were highly to moderately resistant to smut. The resistant lines identified in this study could be used as sources of smut resistance in sugarcane breeding programs.