SRA Woodford’s smut rating team has been busy checking the resistance of new sugarcane clones to smut. The rating process can take more than a week, depending on the weather.

The process starts with inoculating sugarcane eyes with smut spores. The inoculated eyes are then germinated in the germination chamber. The young plantlets are then placed in the nursery where they are grown for a few months before they are planted out in the field. Once the infected plants have grown sufficiently, the Woodford team will inspect the trials and gather the information that’s necessary to generate smut ratings.

Usually, it takes about a week to rate all the clones for smut at Woodford (when the weather is fine).

It is hot work and all team members must wear PPE including wide brimmed hats, long sleeve shirts and covered shoes, and ensure they stay well hydrated while working in the cane fields in summer.

(Above): The Woodford smut rating team is Anuroop Manandhar, Tim Lindsay, Cath Douglas, Annie Rapmund, Steele Ford, Ashlea Bishop, Elisha Koppen (photo by Kylie Sherring).