Sugarcane viral diseases: Epidemiology, detection, and advanced breeding methods for resistance

Sugarcane viruses threaten yield and sucrose content, imposing substantial global economic losses. This review provides current knowledge on the major sugarcane pathogens, with a focus on virus biology, transmission, and virus-host interactions, and uses this foundation to frame practical control strategies. We first describe the epidemiology and economic impact of sugarcane viral diseases to establish the urgency of robust surveillance and management. Building on these insights, we then evaluate detection and surveillance technologies, ranging from traditional immunoassays and nucleic acid hybridization to molecular diagnostics, isothermal amplification, and CRISPR-based approaches, and discuss how high-throughput sequencing accelerates virus discovery. Next, we assess management strategies that include virus-free planting material, vector control, sanitation, and modern breeding technologies, like RNA interference (RNAi), CRISPR/Cas genome editing, marker-assisted selection (MAS), and genome wide association studies (GWAS) within genomic selection (GS) frameworks. We also consider supplementary strategies such as plant-derived antivirals and environmental management, and discuss how they complement core approaches. Crucially, we identify key knowledge gaps in sugarcane virus-host interactions and resistance breeding, and propose data-driven, multi-omics and AI-assisted approaches to precision breeding and integrated disease management. The review concludes with a practical roadmap for advancing sugarcane virus control and promoting sustainable production.