Divisi
Sugarcane smut
Sporisorium scitamineum · Fungal
Photo: William M. Brown Jr., Bugwood · CC BY 3.0 us
Sugarcane smut is a fungal disease (Sporisorium scitamineum) carried in planting material (the setts, or seed-cane pieces you plant) and on wind-blown spores. It sneaks in through the buds, colonises the growing tip, and twists the shoot into a long black whip that pours out millions of dark spores. It gets worse every time you ratoon (leave the stumps to sprout again for another crop) an infected field, turning strong stools into thin, grassy, worthless clumps.
Why it matters
Smut can strip away up to 60% of your cane on a susceptible variety, and it comes back stronger with every ratoon crop off the same infected stools. Once a plant is infected there is no cure — no spray will save that stool — so it steals your yield quietly for the rest of the field's life. Worse, every black whip you leave standing dusts spores onto your healthy cane and into next season's setts, so a small problem this year becomes a ruined field in a few years.
When to act
Any smut whips seen; because there is no cure for infected stools, rogue them out at once and manage through resistant varieties and clean setts, especially in ratoon crops.
This guidance is general, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. Thresholds and timing shift with your crop, your variety and the season.
In much of the region a spray is simply called mushonga — medicine. But a chemical group you cannot name is one you cannot rotate, and a product you did not write down has no pre-harvest interval you can observe. Mushonga, and other farming words →
The full sugarcane smut field guide
- Identify it
- Scout for it
- Control it
14 field-guide sections in the app
The full guide to sugarcane smut — every symptom to check, how and when to walk your field looking for it, and the controls that actually work, ranked. Built into your crop plan, so you are told to look before it costs you a harvest.
Crops it affects
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify sugarcane smut?
The first thing you notice is a whole stool that looks wrong — instead of a few thick strong canes, you get many thin, spindly, grass-like shoots crowded together, short and stunted, with narrow pale leaves. This 'grassy' clump means the plant is sick inside even before the whip shows.
When should I take action against sugarcane smut?
Any smut whips seen; because there is no cure for infected stools, rogue them out at once and manage through resistant varieties and clean setts, especially in ratoon crops.
How do I control sugarcane smut?
Prevent it first — plant a resistant variety (your strongest tool). Choosing a smut-resistant sugarcane variety is by far the most effective control. If smut is in your area, ask your extension officer or mill for the resistant varieties and switch to them — a resistant variety fights the fungus for you, season after season, at no extra cost.
Which crops does sugarcane smut affect?
Among the crops covered here: Sugarcane.
Catch it before it costs you a harvest
Divisi builds scouting into your crop plan — it tells you when to walk your field, what to look for at that stage, and what to do when you find it. Free for farmers, works offline.
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