title: Cassava virus diseases: biology, epidemiology, and management.
abstract: Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz.) is the most important vegetatively propagated food staple in Africa and a prominent industrial crop in Latin America and Asia. Its vegetative propagation through stem cuttings has many advantages, but deleteriously it means that pathogens are passed from one generation to the next and can easily accumulate, threatening cassava production. Cassava-growing continents are characterized by specific suites of viruses that affect cassava and pose particular threats. Of major concern, causing large and increasing economic impact in Africa and Asia are the cassava mosaic geminiviruses that cause cassava mosaic disease in Africa and Asia and cassava brown streak viruses causing cassava brown streak disease in Africa. Latin America, the center of origin and domestication of the crop, hosts a diverse set of virus species, of which the most economically important give rise to cassava frog skin disease syndrome. Here, we review current knowledge on the biology, epidemiology, and control of the most economically important groups of viruses in relation to both farming and cultural practices. Components of virus control strategies examined include: diagnostics and surveillance, prevention and control of infection using phytosanitation, and control of disease through the breeding and promotion of varieties that inhibit virus replication and/or movement. We highlight areas that need further research attention and conclude by examining the likely future global outlook for virus disease management in cassava.
authors.affiliation: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Electronic address: j.legg@cgiar.org.
authors.forename: James P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Legg
authors.affiliation: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan, Nigeria.
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Lava Kumar
authors.affiliation: Central Tuber Crops Research Institute (CTCRI), Thiruvananthapuram, India.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Makeshkumar
authors.affiliation: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Leena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.affiliation: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Nairobi, Kenya.
authors.forename: Morag
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ferguson
authors.affiliation: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kanju
authors.affiliation: International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Lusaka, Zambia.
authors.forename: Pheneas
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ntawuruhunga
authors.affiliation: Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT), Cali, Colombia.
authors.forename: Wilmer
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Cuellar
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D001208:Asia; D060467:Disease Resistance; D005856:Germ-Free Life; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods; D007843:Latin America; D002365:Manihot / Q000276:immunology / Q000469:parasitology / Q000821:virology*; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000821:virology*; D010942:Plant Viruses / Q000254:growth & development*
keywords: Africa; Cassava brown streak disease; Cassava frogskin disease; Cassava mosaic disease; Host plant resistance; India; Pandemic; Phytosanitation; South America; Whitefly