Avaliação da reacção de variedades da mandioca ao listrado castanho da mandioca - ensaio realizado em Muecate, Mongicual e Nacala - Velha na província de Nampula

Abstract

Cassava cultivation (Manihot esculenía L. Crantz} plays an important role in food security in Mozambique, is a source of income for rural families and can be used for human and animal nutrition. it is of greater importance in the central and northern regions, where it plays a very important social role.According to Steel (2000), it is estimated that in Mozambique the provinces of Nampula and Zambézia contribute about 75% of the total national production. In Nampula, the cultivation of cassava has an expressive economic and social importance, constituting one of the basic food products of the population, mainly in the form of flour and its tender leaves are consumed as vegetables. Vegetatively propagated crops are susceptible to virus attack, with at least 17 different types of cassava viruses having been described, of which 8 occur in Africa (Thresh et al.y 1994). In Africa, the greatest attention was given to viruses that cause mosaic and the brown streak of cassava, the subject of this work. Relatively little attention has been paid to other cassava viruses and the diseases they cause. In terms of the scientific literature there is limited information on their distribution and none on the effects on development or performance. These are serious shortcomings and underscore the inadequate attention given to what, although questionable, is the most important food crop in Africa.