A Survey of Symptoms of Fungal Disease in Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) in Buea, in the South West Region of Cameroon

Aim: Sugarcane (Saccharum officinarum L.) which is mostly cultivated in tropical and subtropical regions of the world is an important source of sucrose. This crop which was originally grown in South Eastern Asia and the Pacific for the sole purpose of chewing is mainly used nowadays for the production of sugar, bio-fuels, medicine etc. In spite of its numerous uses, the production of sugarcane in Buea, South West region of Cameroon is hampered by many factors including the incidence of disease. It is possible that some varieties are no longer cultivated because of their susceptibility to fungal diseases. It was for these reasons that we decided to survey the sugarcane farms in this area, to evaluate the presence of diseased symptoms due to activity of fungi.

Study Design: Random sampling.

Place and Duration of Study: Buea and its environs, Rubber Pathology Laboratory IRAD Ekona, and Life Sciences Laboratory, University of Buea, between June 2016 and July 2017.

Methodology: During the survey, sugarcane farms in five villages in Buea and its environments were visited. The leaves and stems of the plants were observed for any symptoms of fungal activity. The incidence, severity and prevalence of the symptoms were noted. Leaf samples were collected from diseased sugarcane plants and transported to the laboratory for the isolation of fungi on Potato Dextrose Agar growth medium. The isolates were identified based on their cultural and micro-morphological characteristics.

Results: Sugarcane plants with fungal disease symptoms were seen in all the farms visited during the survey, thus a prevalence of 100%. The disease incidence varied from 54- 100%, while the severity ranged from 20- 55%. Two genera of fungi were isolated from the diseased plants viz: Chaetomium sp. and Bipolaris sp.

Conclusion: Chaetomium and Bipolaris are associated with fungal symptoms in diseased sugarcanes hence any management plans geared towards the improvement of sugarcane production in this area must include control measures for these fungi.