The Cassava Brown Streak Disease disease is affecting large parts of East Africa. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the disease is on the verge of becoming epidemic; in Rwanda, a surveillance analysis conducted by the National Agricultural Research Institute in 2010 showed a 15.7 percent rate of infection on local varieties and 36.9 percent in improved varieties. “None of the cassava varieties currently being distributed to farmers seem to be tolerant to the effects of this disease”, says Jan Helsen, one of FAO’s leading Cassava Initiative experts. One of the recommended measures is to harvest early, before symptoms appear and significant damage is done. KARI Katumani has publihed a leaflet about the Cassava Brown Streack Disease, and another general one about cassava planting. What you can do ▪ Scouting for diseases every week ▪ Uproot all diseased plants in your farm and advise neighbours to do so ▪ Keep cassava crop and its environment free of weeds to reduce alternative hosts of the whiteflies. ▪ Avoid growing of vegetables near the cassava crop. ▪ Do not give out diseased cassava planting materials to friends and neighbours. ▪ Use clean cassava planting materials as recommended. ▪ Practice crop rotation to reduce possible disease hosts. Download the leaflets You can download the leaflets from the Internet: kari.org, go to search, type cassava disease, under the title Research result you will get KARI Katumani Brochures, there you will find the two mentioned leaflets.
Posted on: Sat, 05 Oct 2013 17:47:50 +0000
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