Mononychellus tanajoa (cassava green mite).

Abstract

The cassava green mite, M. tanajoa, is of Neotropical origin but was accidentally introduced to Africa in 1971 (Nyiira, 1972). By 1985, the pest had spread throughout the cassava belt of Africa (Yaninek and Heren, 1988). M. tanajoa affects the important annual crop cassava (Manihot esculenta) and can cause a reduction of about 50% in leaf weight, and up to 80% tuber yield loss (Shukla, 1976; Gutierrez et al., 1988; Pallangyo et al., 2004). M. tanajoa is mainly dispersed by human activity, whereby infested plant materials and contaminated media are transported over long distances. Natural dispersion by wind and water may also spread the cassava green mite. In areas where both the pest and host plant are exotic, there is no evidence that indigenous natural enemies are significant factors in limiting the mite population growth rates. M. tanajoa can feed and reproduce on other plant species (Moraes et al., 1995) and is reported as a quarantine pest (Delalibera et al., 1992; EPPO, 2009).