Failure to Transmit the Causal Agent of Ratoon-Stunting Disease of Sugarcane Through the Soil

Abstract

This paper presents an account of some experiments conducted under laboratory conditions to determine whether the causal agent of the ratoon-stunting disease of sugarcane could be transmitted from infected to healthy cane through the soil. The results demonstrated that, under the conditions of the experiment, no transmission of the infective agent from diseased to healthy plants occurred, even though the plants were grown in close contact in the soil for several months. No transmission through contact of the aerial parts was observed either. The results tend to indicate that the infection or reinfection through the soil of heat-treated cane used in the control of the disease is extremely difficult if not impossible.