NEW SPREAD OF CASSAVA BROWN STREAK VIRUS DISEASE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MOVEMENT OF CASSAVA GERMPLASM IN THE EAST AND CENTRAL AFRICAN REGION

The East Africa Root Crops Research Network (EARRNET), a network of the Association for Strengthening Agricultural Research in East and Central Africa (ASARECA), and executed by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), wishes to bring to the attention of all stakeholders interested in the promotion of cassava in East and Central Africa that new reports of spread of cassava brown streak virus disease (CBSD) suggest that this disease now represents a significantly increased threat to the region’s cassava. CBSD is the second most important constraint affecting cassava production in eastern Africa after cassava mosaic disease (CMD). It is a devastating disease that causes loss of root production and quality. It can render susceptible varieties unusable if cassava roots are left in the ground for over nine months. Like CMD, CBSD is a viral disease, and is spread both through propagation of infected cuttings and by a whitefly vector,