What are the pest of cassava?

Cassava mites are a major pest in all cassava-producing regions. The introduction of green mites from Latin America devastated African cassava production in the early 1970s. They were brought under control by a predatory mite introduced from Brazil, which reduced substantially the damage caused by the pest.

What causes cassava to rot?

Cassava root rot disease caused by soil-borne pathogens cause substantial yield loss in cassava production. Recently cassava root rot disease caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae was widespread in the Brong-Ahafo region of Ghana.

What are the symptoms of cassava mosaic disease?

Among them, cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is the most severe and widespread, limiting production of the crop in sub-Saharan Africa. CMD produces a variety of foliar symptoms that include mosaic, mottling, misshapen and twisted leaflets, and an overall reduction in size of leaves and plants (Figs. 2 and 3).

Are pesticides used on cassava?

Cassava: A few cassava farmers (2.3% in Burundi and 4% in Rwanda) applied chemical insecticides to control the cassava mealybug (Phenacoccus manihoti Matile-Ferrero), and cassava whiteflies (Figure 4). Use of at least one cultural control method in cassava was common in Rwanda (95.9%), as it was in Burundi (97.6%).

What does cassava do to the body?

Consumption of controlled cassava can help your body with the vitamins and minerals needed. Filled with vitamin A content, cassava can help improve your vision, it can also prevent blindness or poor vision. The whole cassava plant, namely the stems, leaves and roots are all useful in treating wounds.

Can you eat cassava with black lines?

If the flesh isn’t white, then the yuca has gone bad and should be pulled from the shelves.) If you see black specks, lines or discoloration that run throughout, the yuca is past its prime. If any discoloration or spots are restricted to one part of the yuca, you can just cut it away.

How is cassava mosaic disease treated?

Control strategies for cassava mosaic disease include sanitation and plant resistance. In this case, sanitation means using cuttings from healthy plants to start with a healthy plot and maintaining that healthy plot by identifying unhealthy plants and immediately removing them.

What is mosaic virus disease?

What Are Mosaic Viruses? Mosaic viruses affect more than 150 types of plants, including many fruits, vegetables, and flowers. The disease is characterized by leaves that are mottled with yellow, white, and light or dark green spots and streaks (in other words, a “mosaic” of these colors).

What is the economic importance of cassava?

Cassava is the most important tropical root crop. Its starchy roots are a major source of dietary energy for more than 500 million people. It is known to be the highest producer of carbohydrates among staple crops.

What are the uses of cassava?

People use the root as a food and to make medicine. Cassava is used for tiredness, dehydration in people with diarrhea, sepsis, and to induce labor, but there is no good scientific evidence to support these uses. Cassava root and leaves are eaten as food. The nutritional value of cassava is similar to a potato.

Is it safe to eat cassava everyday?

People should not eat cassava raw, because it contains naturally occurring forms of cyanide, which are toxic to ingest. Soaking and cooking cassava makes these compounds harmless. Eating raw or incorrectly prepared cassava can lead to severe side effects.

What are the dangers of eating cassava?

Cassava that is prepared improperly can contain chemicals that are converted to cyanide in the body. This may cause cyanide poisoning and lead to certain paralysis conditions. This is especially true if eaten as part of a low-protein diet. In some people, eating cassava can cause an allergic reaction.

What kind of diseases can you get from growing cassava?

A range of sustainable, non-chemical measures can help cassava growers reduce losses to insect pests and diseases. Bacterial blight, one of the most widespread of the cassava diseases, is transmitted by infected planting material and farm tools.

Why is it bad to use insecticide on cassava?

For example, insecticide kills cassava mites’ natural enemies – phytoseiid mite predators – before killing the mites themselves. When natural predators are eliminated, there’s usually an increase in the pest population, to which farmers may respond with increased use of pesticide, thereby perpetuating and worsening the cycle of pest damage.

How can I get rid of cassava virus?

It can be controlled by using varieties with good tolerance, soaking stakes in hot water before planting, sterilizing tools with disinfectant, and intercropping to reduce plant-to-plant dissemination. Viral diseases are usually transmitted through infected planting material.

What kind of virus causes cassava brown streak?

Cassva Brown Streak Disease is caused by two distinct species of single-stranded RNA (ssRNA) viruses, Cassava brown streak virus (CBSV) and Ugandan cassava brown streak virus (UCBSV), belonging to the genus Ipomovirus of the family Potyviridae.