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HighlightsThis study comprised the first attempt to manage cassava viruses with community phytosanitation for more than 70 years.Community phytosanitation resulted in area-wide reductions in CBSD incidence sustained over the 3-year duration of the study.Reduced CBSD and increased yields mean that community phytosanitation could be an important component of integrated cassava virus management.

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Cassava brown streak disease (CBSD) is currently the most significant virus disease phenomenon affecting African agriculture. In this study, we report results from the most extensive set of field data so far presented for CBSD in Africa. From assessments of 515 farmers' plantings of cassava, incidence in the Coastal Zone of Tanzania (46.5% of plants; 87% of fields affected) was higher than in the Lake Zone (22%; 34%), but incidences for both zones were greater than previous published records. The whitefly vector, Bemisia tabaci, was more abundant in the Lake Zone than the Coastal Zone, the reverse of the situation reported previously, and increased B. tabaci abundance is driving CBSD spread in the Lake Zone. The altitudinal "ceiling" previously thought to restrict the occurrence of CBSD to regions <1,000 masl has been broken as a consequence of the greatly increased abundance of B. tabaci in mid-altitude areas. Among environmental variables analyzed, minimum temperature was the strongest determinant of CBSD incidence. B. tabaci in the Coastal and Lake Zones responded differently to environmental variables examined, highlighting the biological differences between B. tabaci genotypes occurring in these regions and the superior adaptation of B. tabaci in the Great Lakes region both to cassava and low temperature conditions. Regression analyses using multi-country data sets could be used to determine the potential environmental limits of CBSD. Approaches such as this offer potential for use in the development of predictive models for CBSD, which could strengthen country- and continent-level CBSD pandemic mitigation strategies.

Banana production landscapes in the African Great Lakes Region (AGLR) have been under immense pressure from Xanthomonas wilt (XW) disease over the past two decades. XW, first reported on banana in central Uganda and eastern DR Congo in 2001, has since spread to the entire AGLR. XW is currently spreading westwards from hot spots in eastern DR Congo highlands, putting the plantain ( Musa AAB genome) belt of central and west Africa at risk. In-depth understanding of the key variables responsible for disease spread, current hotspots, and vulnerable landscapes is crucial for disease early warning and management. We mapped aggregated disease distribution and hotspots in the AGLR and identified vulnerable landscapes across African banana production zones. Available data on disease prevalence collected over 11 years was regressed against environmental and expert developed covariates to develop the AGLR XW hotspots map. For the Africa-wide risk map, precipitation, distance to hotspots, degree of trade in fresh banana products, production zone interconnectedness and banana genotype composition were used as covariates. In the AGLR, XW was mainly correlated to precipitation and disease/banana management. Altitude and temperature had unexpectedly low effects, possibly due to an overriding impact of tool-mediated spread which is part of the management covariate. In the AGLR, the eastern part of DR Congo was a large hotspot with highest vulnerability. Apart from endemic zones in the AGLR and Ethiopia, northern Mozambique was perceived as a moderate risk zone mainly due to the predominance of ‘Bluggoe’ ( Musa ABB type) which is highly susceptible to insect-vectored transmission. Presence of XW hotspots (e.g. eastern DR Congo) and vulnerable areas with low (e.g. north-western Tanzania) or no disease (e.g. Congo basin, western DR Congo and northern Mozambique) pressure suggest key areas where proactive measures e.g. quarantines and information sharing on XW diagnosis, epidemiology, and control could be beneficial.