Heat Therapy of Cassava Infected with African Cassava Mosaic Disease

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Abstract
Thermotherapy was used to free 3 cassava (M. esculenta) cultivars of African cassava mosaic, an important virus-like disease of cassava in East Africa. The pathogen was eradicated from 33-44% of tip cuttings (1.0-1.5 cm long) after hot-air treatment of mother plants at 37.degree. C for 87-105 days. Survival of these tip cuttings after 35-105 days ranged 22-73%. Exposure of entire cassava plants to hot-air treatments at 37.degree. C for 42-96 days caused temporary remission of symptoms in most plants. Only one of 129 surviving plants was freed of disease. Two successive hot-water treatments of diseased stem cuttings at 50 or 55.degree. C for varying intervals were not therapeutic.