Fusarium solani A New Pathogen that Causes Stem Rot of Sugarcane in South Gujarat, India

This study reports occurrence of stem rot in sugarcane by Fusarium solani NVS671 in the south Gujarat, India. To study it, the pathogen was isolated and identified based on the morphology and internal transcribed spacer region. The pathogenicity of F. solani along with Colletotrichum falcatum strain cfNAV as a positive control was evaluated on cultivar CoC671 by cut cane assay and under pot conditions. The pathogenicity recorded for F. solani stain NVS671 and C. falcatum strain cfNAV indicated severe effect on the sugarcane growth in both the experimental runs in comparison with the untreated control. The study showed that F. solani also causes stem rot in sugarcane, and this is the first report on this pathogen causing stem rot in sugarcane.