Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) threatens cassava ( Manihot esculenta ) production in Africa. A total of 24 selected cultivars were screened against CMD using combined molecular and greenhouse grafting tools. Disease severity was recorded for 10 weeks after inoculation and the molecular markers associated with CMD2 were detected by PCR. CMD severity significantly differed ( P < 0.0001) among cultivars. Twelve cultivars were morphologically resistant and eight of these possessed CMD2 and four did not. These results suggest that there are several CMD-resistant cassava cultivars that could be recommended for on-farm production and for conservation and breeding programs.

BackgroundCassava is an important crop in Africa that is widely cultivated for its starchy tuberous root, which constitutes a major source of dietary carbohydrates. Cassava mosaic disease (CMD) is the most devastating disease affecting cassava in Africa and causes enormous losses in yield. In Benin, specifically, cultivars resistant to CMD are not commonly planted, and even when CMD is observed in fields, farmers do not implement control measures, presumably because they lack proper knowledge and training. Our study aimed to evaluate farmers’ knowledge of CMD to determine whether there is consistency between farmers’ criteria for selecting cassava cultivars and the currently CMD-recommended cassava varieties.MethodsWe conducted structured interviews with 369 farmers in 20% of townships in each of three agro-ecological zones in Benin between November 2015 and February 2016. Farmers were selected randomly in each household, and their fields were assessed for CMD incidence and severity.ResultsAll farmers surveyed, representing a broad demographic pool with regard to education level, age group, and years of experience in cassava production, successfully recognized CMD symptoms in photos, but most (98.60%) said they did not know the causes and vectors of the disease. Most farmers (93.51%) reported that they obtain planting material from neighboring fields or their own fields. In total, 52 unique cultivars were identified, of which 3 (5.76%) were preferred based on their yield and precocity and 3 (5.76%) were preferred based on taste or ability for transformation. The assessment of disease incidence and severity showed that the areas most affected by CMD were Comè Township (37.77% of fields affected) and agro-ecological zone VIII (26.33%).ConclusionFarmers already know how to recognize the symptoms of CMD and could implement control measures against it if they are trained by researchers. Across all surveyed areas, we identified six preferred cultivars based on the four most commonly stated preference criteria (precocity, yield, gari, and taste. Our results suggest that farmers will be more likely to use CMD-resistant cultivars and clean plant material if the plants meet their existing preference criteria. We suggest that CMD-resistant cultivars will be embraced only if the recommended cultivars are strategically aligned with the characteristics desirable to the cassava farmers in each region.

Cassava production in Africa is constrained by cassava mosaic disease (CMD) that is caused by the Cassava mosaic virus (CMV). The aim of this study was to evaluate the responses of a range of commonly cultivated West African cassava cultivars to varying inoculum doses of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV). We grafted 10 cultivars of cassava plants with different inoculum doses of CMV (namely two, four, or six CMD-infected buds) when the experimental plants were 8, 10, or 12 weeks old, using non-inoculated plants as controls. Three cultivars showed disease symptoms when grafted with two buds, and four cultivars showed disease symptoms when grafted with four or six buds. Most cultivars became symptomatic six weeks after inoculation, but one (‘TMS92/0326’) was symptomatic two weeks after inoculation, and two (‘Ntollo’ and ‘Excel’) were symptomatic after four weeks. Root weight tended to be lower in the six-bud than in the two-bud dose, and disease severity varied with plant age at inoculation. These results indicate that the level of CMD resistance in cassava cultivars varies with inoculum dose and timing of infection. This will allow appropriate cultivars to be deployed in each production zone of Africa in accordance with the prevalence of CMD.

Bananas and plantains are among the most important food crops in Central and West Africa. Their plantation is lead to many problems. In the recent decades, biotechnology tools using in vitro culture technics are used for the mass and free disease plantlets production in order to increase the bananas production and the yield. The main way of in vitro tissue culture at this end is the direct organogenesis i.e., the ability of plant tissues to form various organs de novo by shoots or roots induction to differentiate from a cell or cell clusters. This review aims to summarize the main results obtained in the organogenesis of bananas and plantains (Musa spp.) under in vitro conditions and to identify the challenges during the process. The research articles used in this review show that micropropagation is a reliable alternative to conventional production system of bananas and plantains planting material. However, the use of the in vitro micropropagation for bananas and plantains entails choosing the optimal explant type and size according to objectives. Benzylaminopurine remains the preferred cytokinin for in vitro banana and plantain shoot proliferation, while the use of thidiazuron appears to be more and more common. Whichever cytokinin used, the optimal cytokinin concentration for shoot proliferation is genotype dependent. This review also focuses on the causes and control measures of the two major banana and plantain micropropagation constraints: lethal tissues browning/darkening and microbial contaminations. It showed that applying the suitable and available control measure, according to the evolution of culture, is necessary. All this available information on the in vitro conditions makes banana and plantain cultivars in vitro organogenesis possible.

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