Impact of serial thermotherapy on sugarcane mosaic virus titre and regeneration in sugarcane: Auswirkung serieller thermotherapie auf zuckerrohr-mosaikvirustiter und regeneration bei zuckerrohr

Serial thermotherapy with hot water involving different treatment series was followed in two sugarcane cultivars namely Co 740 and CoC 671 for assessing its effect on sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV) titre in the regenerated plants. Observations on virus titre and sett regeneration were recorded at different intervals after planting the treated setts. The direct antigen coating (DAC) ELISA method was followed with the polyclonal antisera raised against the widespread local SCMV strain. All the thermo treatments affected the sett regeneration in both the cultivars. Although none of the treatment series produced virus free plants, the SCMV titre was comparatively reduced in the regenerated plants at an early phase (4 weeks after planting) in severe hot water treatment series but drastic reduction in sett germination was observed. However, the SCMV titre picked up later (8 weeks after planting) in all the treatment series. The early reduction in SCMV titre could be utilized for obtaining more virus free plants in meristem culture.