Emergence of begomoviruses and DNA satellites associated with weeds and intercrops: a potential threat to sustainable production of cassava in Côte d'Ivoire.

Cassava ( Crantz) plays a significant role in the livelihoods of people in Africa, particularly in Côte d'Ivoire. However, its production is threatened by begomoviruses which cause huge yield losses. Some weeds and food crops intercropped with cassava act as reservoirs, thereby facilitating the sustenance and propagation of Cassava mosaic begomoviruses (CMBs), along with other begomoviruses.

An Alarming Eastward Front of Cassava Mosaic Disease in Development in West Africa.

Begomoviruses are a major threat to cassava production in Africa. Indeed, during the 1990s, the emergence of a recombinant begomovirus (East African cassava mosaic virus-Uganda, EACMV-Ug) resulted in crop devastation and severe famine in Uganda. In 2023, during a pre-survey of cassava farms at Forécariah, South-West Guinea, 22 samples showing peculiar cassava mosaic disease (CMD) symptoms were collected, and subsequent laboratory analysis confirmed the presence of EACMV-Ug in the samples.