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Cassava witches broom

Many thin shoots bunch at the top like a broom, leaves turn small and yellow, stems dry back, and roots stay small with brown streaks inside.

Phytoplasma (Candidatus Phytoplasma luffae group); the fungus Ceratobasidium theobromae is also found in sick plants Bacterium Fact sheet
Cassava witches broom: plants with bunches of thin shoots and small leaves
Photo: J. M. Pardo, A. Gil Ordóñez, A. M. Leiva, L. Enjelvin, A. Chourrot, S., CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Crops it strikes

Kamoteng kahoy Cassava

What you see

Stunted plantsYellowing

When to act

Walk the field every month and pull and burn any plant with crowded, thin shoots and small leaves at the top. Check stakes before planting and throw out any with dark streaks inside.

Before you spray

No spray cures it. It travels mainly in infected stakes, so plant cuttings only from healthy fields and pull and burn broomed plants.

How to prevent it

  • Plant stakes only from healthy fields that showed no broomed plants.
  • Pull and burn broomed plants with their stems, and never cut planting stakes from them.
  • Do not bring stakes from areas where the disease is known.
  • Clean cutting tools between plants when you gather stakes.

Where this comes from

Not sure it is this one?

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