Information sheet : Green grassy shoot disease (GGSD)

Abstract

Green grassy shoot disease (GGSD) was recognized for the first time in Thailand in the mid-1990s. Caused by a phytoplasma – a very small organism that lives in the phloem of the vascular bundles, the disease has caused serious yield losses in Thailand and Vietnam. GGSD is very similar to Grassy shoot disease (GSD), first seen in India in the 1940s. In 2006, GGSD was recognized for the first time in Vietnam and is currently causing a major disease epidemic in that country, particularly in Nghe An Province.

If GGSD was introduced to Australia, it could cause major yield losses to the sugar industry. Issues such as diagnostic techniques, resistant varieties and alternative hosts require research.