Sorghum Diseases in India

Table 1. Sorghum production and productivity in Brazil, 1982-84.
State
Sorgh um area (ha)
1982
1983
Production (t ha -1 ) Yield (t ha -1 )
1984 1982 1983 1984 1982 1983 1984
Rio Grande do Sul 50 423 51638 65 964 105 634 105 687 136 695 2.10 2.05 2.07
Sao Paulo 34 970 31 273 30 000 69 940 62 546 60 000 2.00 2.00 2.00
Parana 5 904 12 320 15 054 16 285 33 092 39 574 2.79 2.69 2.63
Pernambuco 6 284 4 233 9 916 4 713 1 516 14 775 0.75 0.36 1.50
Bahia 7 511 24 172 19 194 12 764 13 804 13 354 1.64 0.57 0.70
Ceara 5 400 2 692 6 028 6 750 1 618 9 464 1.25 1.60 1.60
Mato Grasso do Sul 3 123 3 371 4 803 3 684 6 874 7 760 1.20 2.04 1.61
Rio Grande do Norte 7 424 3 555 9884 3 851 497 12 355 0.52 0.14 1.25
Goias 1 115 2 272 3 290 1 964 5 231 8160 1.61 2.30 2.48
Minas Gerais 280 471 4 419 436 692 8 046 1.56 1.47 1.54
1. Source: Veiga (1986).
Average alcohol production ranged from 2500 to
3500 L ha -1 .
Sorghum Diseases in Brazil
Annual surveys in Brazilian sorghum fields,
show that anthracnose (Colletotrichum graminicola),
rust (Puccinia purpurea), downy mildew
(Peronosclerospora sorghi), charcoal rot (Macrophomina
phaseolina), and grain weathering, are
the major sorghum diseases in Brazil. Several
other sorghum diseases are found in Brazil
(Table 2); the principal diseases are discussed
below.
Anthracnose
Anthracnose is the most important disease of
sorghum in Brazil. It is found all over the country
and can cause severe losses in yield and in
quality. All forms of infection are found in Brazil,
but foliar infections predominate over stalk
and panicle infections.
Currently, Brazilian research on C graminkola
has focused on characterizing the pathogen variability
and host resistance. Several races have
been reported as important in Brazil (Casela et
al., this volume).
The durability of the hypersensitivity resistance
to sorghum anthracnose is questionable,
considering the plasticity of C. graminicola. At-
58
Table 2. Sorghum diseases in Brazil.
Disease Pathogen
Foliar
Anthracnose Colletotrichum
gramincola
Rust Puccinia Purpurea
Sorghum downy Peronosclerospora
mildew sorghi
Leaf blight Exerohilum turcicum
Ladder spot Cercospora
fusimaculans
Zonate leaf spot Gloeocercospora sorghi
Sooty stripe Ramulispora sorghi
Root and stalk
Charcoal rot Macrophomina
phascolina
Red stalk rot Colletotrichum
graminicola
Head
Grain weathering Various fungi
Covered smut Spahacelotheca sorghi
Head smut Sporisorium reilianum
Virus
Mosaic Sugarcane mosaic virus