ABSTRACT
Introduction Traditionally, sugarcane is considered to be a managerial crop and cultural practices are the most important input for growing a profitable crop. No doubt, disease-resistant varieties are the cheapest and also environmentally safe, but the ever-changing population of pathogens often overcomes the introduced resistance and, over a period of time, the popular variety is knocked down with no option but replacement. Unfortunately, in sugarcane, the bulky and vegetative nature of seed with very low multiplication ratio has made it difficult for a breeder to replace the variety in a short time (Agnihotri, 1990).
