quarantine
SAFE MOVEMENT OF SUGARCANE
The movement of sugarcane between countries carries a risk of introducing potentially serious diseases and therefore requires stringent quarantine procedures. Sugarcane clones mainly from Australia, Brazil, Barbados, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, USA and Reunion are imported into South Africa to broaden the genetic base of our parental breeding stock. Similarly, our sugarcane varieties are exported to various countries, most frequently to eSwatini, Zambia, Mozambique, Australia, Brazil, Mauritius, Malawi, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. True seed from sugarcane crosses has been exported to Japan, Pakistan, Zimbabwe, Iran and Mauritius.
QUARANTINE FACILITY AT SASRI
SASRI conforms to the FAO/IBPGR Guidelines for the Safe Movement of Sugarcane Germplasm. Although the national government’s Directorate SAAFQIS (South African Agricultural Food, Quarantine and Inspection Services) is ultimately responsible for plant quarantine, including sugarcane, for many years the technical management of the sugarcane quarantine has been delegated to SASRI’s pathologists.
The quarantine facility at SASRI, Mount Edgecombe, has been in use since 1984.It is a world-class laboratory where molecular techniques are used for the accurate detection of the most important sugarcane pathogens. A tissue culture facility ‘cleans’ varieties from diseases such as SCYLV, SCMV and unknown viral diseases. This enables SASRI to clean imported sugarcane varieties from most pathogens so that disease-free plants can be used in our breeding programme. It also ensures that SASRI exports healthy, tissue culture derived plants of South African varieties instead of conventional sugarcane setts.
Aimee Koch
SERVICES OFFERED
SASRI can exchange varieties provided a valid agreement is in place. SASRI supplies in vitro plantlets, hardened off plantlets, fuzz (seed) and 3-budded setts.
The Quarantine facility conducts a wide range of in-house sugarcane disease diagnostics including Sugarcane yellow leaf virus (SCYLV), Sugarcane mosaic virus (SCMV), Potyviridae and Phytoplasmas.
