Survey of Sugarcane Yellow Leaf Virus in the Canal Point Breeding and Cultivar Development Program

Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV), a Polerovirus in the family Luteoviridea, causes yellow leaf disease (YLD). Yield losses from YLD have been reported from several countries in both symptomatic and asymptomatic sugarcane cultivars. The breeding nursery at Canal Point (CP) in 2016 and primary and secondary seed increases in the CP cultivar development program at grower’s farm from 2015 to 2019 were surveyed for SCYLV infection by the tissue-blot immunoassay using polyclonal antibodies raised against SCYLV. More than 32% of varieties in the CP breeding nursery were infected with SCYLV in 2016. The SCYLV data of primary and secondary seedcane increases from 2015 to 2019 showed that out of 54 varieties screened at different locations, 12 had no SCYLV-positive plants, 24 had less than 5%, 5 had 6% to 12%, and 13 had 20% to 75% of the plants infected with SCYLV. The SCYLV screenings in varieties in the primary and secondary seed increase plantings provide growers an opportunity to acquire virus-free clean seedcane by apical meristem propagation to minimize the spread of the SCYLV and avoid yield losses