Surveys of cassava plantations in Colombia for virus and virus-like diseases

Abstract

The cassava common mosaic virus (CsCMV) and the frogskin (FSD) disease agent have been reported to reduce cassava yields significantly in South America. However, little information is available on the distribution and incidence of these and other cassava virus diseases in Colombia. Cassava plants collected in three principal cassava production zones of Colombia were tested for the presence of CsCMV, cassava × virus (CsXV), and the Caribbean mosaic disease (CMD) and FSD agents. Some plants were also tested for the presence of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA). CsCMV was not detected in any of the 870 plants from 86 plantations. CsXV was detected in 51% of the 150 plants collected in the Cauca Department in south-central Colombia. The virus was present on all 15 cassava plantations surveyed. The CMD agent was detected in 17% of the 138 plants sampled in the Department of Magdalena in northern Colombia. FSD root symptoms were observed on 25 and 3% of plants examined in the Departments of Cauca and Magdalena, respectively. None of the 570 plants collected in areas west of the Rio Magdalena in the Departments of Atläntico, Bolivar, Córdoba and Sucre were found to be infected with any of these disease agents. However, some plants sampled in this region were found to contain multiple dsRNA species of unknown origin.