ABSTRACT
Hillocks and Wydra (2002) listed publications for 16 root-rot causing pathogens of cassava. Root rot symptoms are encountered wherever cassava is grown, and particularly where cassava crops are over-mature and fields are poorly drained, or in farmland recently converted from humid forest (Ospina and Ceballos, 2002) (Fig. 1). Pathogens associated with root rot often occur in complex mixtures, and it can be difficult to determine the source of primary infection. Root rots initiated by primary infecting pathogens are frequently exacerbated by subsequent colonization by saprophytic species. In Colombia, up to 80% of cassava has been reported to be affected by root rots, whilst in southern India, production losses of 70% have occurred. Root rots are also a major constraint to cassava production in the forested areas of Central and West Africa. In this section we highlight several of the most important fungal pathogens causing root rot in cassava.
