Occurrence, Distribution and Farmers' Perceptions of Cassava Diseases in Gabon, Central Africa

Abstract

Aims: In order to identify and assess the level of cassava diseases in farms present in Gabon, disease surveys were carried out across the country in 2021 and 2022.
 Methodology: The method used is based on administration of questionnaire to cassava growers, supplemented by the recognition of disease symptoms on 30 randomly selected plants in farms.
 Results: Some 201 cassava growers were interviewed, 84.04% (n=169) of them were women and 15.92% (n=32) men. Nearly 65.41% of the farmers interviewed had a primary school education and were aged between 51 and 55. The majority of these producers had farming as their main activity (89.73%). The results showed the occurrence of five cassava diseases in the study area: cassava mosaic (Im = 60.22%; Sm = 2.95), anthracnose (Im = 19.45%; Sm = 3), leaf necrosis (Im= 9.95%; Sm = 2.71), bacteriosis (Im = <1%; Sm = 3), and root rot (Im = <1%; Sm = 2.61). Among these diseases, mosaic was the most frequently observed in the provinces surveyed. Its incidence was lowest in Estuaire (38.40%) and highest in Ogooué-Ivindo (71.36%) and Ogooué-Maritime (71.76%). Anthracnose incidence was lowest in Moyen-Ogooué (4.05%) and highest in Haut-Ogooué (36.50%). For leaf necrosis, Woleu-Ntem (0.71%) and Ogooué-Ivindo (31.11%) recorded the lowest and highest incidence respectively.
 Conclusion: In order to control these cassava diseases, it is important to initiate and implement awareness campaigns and training workshops for growers to encourage them to adopt good farming practices.

Distribution of cassava mosaic begomoviruses in the North-Western provinces of Democratic Republic of Congo

“…Viral diseases of cassava, including CMD transmission, spread from one country to another or from one region to another (De Brun et al, 2012). CMD has evolved from East Africa through Central Africa to West Africa (Legg et al, 2011) and is mostly spread through the infected cuttings that farmers take from their own or neighbouring fields (Armel et al, 2023). In DR Congo, CMD is present in all cassava-growing regions across the country.…”