Comparison of growth characteristics and natural resistance to sugarcane smut among different sugarcane varieties

With 12 new sugarcane varieties as materials, aiming to select varieties with excellent comprehensive growth characteristics and strong resistance to sugarcane smut, and providing a theoretical basis for new sugarcane varieties' promotion and industrial development in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region（abbr．Guangxi）．Experiment was conducted at sugarcane production bases in Jiangzhou District, Chongzuo City．GT11-2011, GT10-2118, NYS212, NYS1505, NYS6210, GT58, GT55, GT44, LC17-190, GNY17-8021, GNY17-1004, and GT42 （CK）were planted and analyzed for agronomic characters, yield, quality characteristics, and sugarcane smut resistance．Results showed that GT11-2011 showed more balanced growth traits such as plant height（10.37% increase than CK）, stem diameter（ 7.84% increase than CK）, single-stem weight（25.41% heavier than CK）, and yield（ 29.41% increase than CK）, as well as quality characteristics such as hammering degree（2.03°BX higher than CK）, sucrose content（15.78%）, and reducing sugars（0.53%）．Meanwhile, it exhibited the lowest sugarcane smut incidence rate（9.99%）and strong resistance, indicating that it was the best variety with comprehensive growth characteristics．GT44, GT10-2118, and NYS6210 also showed strong resistance to sugarcane smut．GT44 and GT10-2118 performed well in growth traits and yield, while NYS6210 showed better performance in quality traits．LC17-190, GNY17-8021, and NYS1505 exhibited high sugarcane smut infection rates, indicating susceptibility to disease, and their comprehensive growth traits were not outstanding．Among tested sugarcane varieties, GT11-2011 exhibited the best comprehensive growth characteristics and strongest resistance to sugarcane smut disease, demonstrating excellent potential for promotion, and could be popularized in main sugarcane growing areas such as Chongzuo City．GT44, GT10-2118, and NYS6210 showed better performance in comprehensive growth traits, sugarcane smut resistance, and yield．NYS6210 showed better quality traits and sugarcane smut resistance．All of them could be used as excellent breeding materials for developing disease-resistant varieties．