Cutting back mosaic virus

Recent years have seen a dramatic increase in the incidence of cassava mosaic virus disease (CMD) in Uganda and, more lately, in Kenya and Tanzania. Whereas it has always been prevalent in some areas and its characteristic leaf symptoms are regarded as a normal feature of cassava plants, it has now become a pandemic and requires more thorough control measures. This detailed overview of The Current Pandemic of Cassava Mosaic Virus Disease in East Africa and its Control is written in a lengthy, but accessible and conversational style. It reviews in documentary style the spread of the disease, and early efforts to develop CMD-resistant varieties and the rehabilitation of plots. One such measure is to reduce inoculum pressure in the area by removing severely diseased plantings before introducing 'clean' planting material. Overall, the clarity of the book will help the extension worker and scientist (who should, it urges, be involved through CMD control measures) to pursue their long task of controlling this scourge. They will need patience too: the book warns that 'there are likely to be acute problems and severe hardship over the next few years as the pandemic continues to spread and before adequate supplies of resistant material become available'. The Current Pandemic of Cassava Mosaic Virus Disease in East Africa and its Control. G W Otim-Nape et al. Co-published by Uganda National Agricultural Research Organisation, the British Department for International Development and the Natural Resources Institute. 2000. 100 pp. ISBN 0 85954 513 X GBP 10 E 15.90 Order number PSTC28 from NRI Catalogue Services c/o CABI (See CABI address on left)The Current Pandemic of Cassava Mosaic Virus Disease in East Africa and its Control. G W Otim-Nape et al. Co-published by Uganda National Agricultural Research Organisation, the British Department for International Development and the Natural Resourc