Survey dataset on the epidemiological assessment of cassava mosaic disease in South West and North Central regions of Nigeria reveals predominance of single viral infection

The dataset presented here was collected during field surveys conducted in 2015 and 2017, to determine the distribution of African cassava mosaic virus (ACMV) and East African cassava mosaic virus (EACMV) across 12 Nigerian states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. In each state, cassava farms were systematically sampled at 10 km intervals except in locations with sparse distribution of cassava farms. In each farm, 30 cassava plants were visually assessed for presence or absence of cassava mosaic disease (CMD) foliar symptoms along two diagonals. Whitefly population was assessed by counting the number of whiteflies on the top five leaves of each sampled plant. Then an average of 4 cassava leaf samples were collected from each farm, and screened for ACMV and EACMV infections using polymerase chain reaction. The dataset includes CMD incidence, symptom severity and the relative abundance of whiteflies in each field as well as laboratory results that show the distribution of ACMV and EACMV across the regions surveyed