Evaluation of sugarcane introgression lines for resistance to brown rust disease caused by Puccinia melanocephala

Sugarcane brown rust disease caused by Puccinia melanocephala is one of the important fungal diseases affecting sugarcane yield around the world. Cultivar resistance is the most appropriate control method for this disease. In this study, 62 introgression lines chosen from the crossing Saccharum officinarum L. cv. Ludashi x Erianthus rockii Yunnan 95-19 were evaluated for brown rust resistance using artificial inoculation. More than 30% of the introgression lines were identified as resistant. Clones Yunye 09-609, Yunye 09-618, Yunye 09-622, Yunye 09-636, Yunye 09-637, Yunye 09-645, Yunye 09-647 and Yunye 09-652 were shown to have high levels of resistance. The resistant lines identified in this study could be used as sources of brown rust resistance in sugarcane breeding programs.