New Delhi, Sep 30 (PTI) Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Tuesday asked ICAR scientists to develop alternate sugarcane varieties as the current variety 'CO 0238' has become susceptible to red rot disease.

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) was also directed to set up a separate team for this purpose.

"Controlling diseases is a critical challenge since new varieties often bring new disease risks," Chouhan said addressing an event here.

Sugarcane variety CO 0238 has good sugar content but is vulnerable to red rot disease, he said emphasising the need to work simultaneously on developing alternatives, an official statement said.

CO 0238 was launched in 2009 with moderate resistance to the prevalent races of red rot disease, which contributed to its rapid adopti

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