180 hectares of cassava in Quy Chau infected with mosaic disease must be uprooted.

Cassava is not a key crop of Quy Chau district, but in the process of converting crop structure, the whole district has more than 2,000 hectares of cassava, bringing high economic efficiency.

However, according to the district's inspection, currently nearly 100% of the plants in this cassava growing area are infected with the disease.cassava leaf mosaic.

Mrs. Ho Thi Nguyen's family has 5 sao with an area of ​​over 1.3 hectares, which was previously used to grow sugarcane. Realizing that some households growing cassava last year had income twice that of growing sugarcane, this year her family rented a tractor and planted cassava. After more than 3 months, the cassava plants showed signs of curling and bending leaves, yellow patches on the leaves, and they gradually died.

Ms. Nguyen shared: “As a farmer, I thought that if the crops were valuable, I would plant them. Now I have lost all the money I spent on land preparation, plowing, and seed investment. The government also called for people to uproot them and plant other crops, but the soil is dry, so it is difficult to grow any crop effectively.”

Agricultural staff check the situation of cassava mosaic disease. Photo: Be Vinh

People in Quynh 1 village, Chau Binh commune said that in the past, people also planted cassava on a small area for animal feed. But now, some traders buy large quantities for starch processing factories, so in the past 2 years, hundreds of hectares of land that were previously used for growing sugarcane have been converted to growing cassava.

Mr. Nguyen Van Cu - Head of Quynh 1 village said that the soil here is sandy soil when it is hot and dry and has difficulty retaining water, so it is very picky about other crops. Besides, this area is also an area that often lacks water for daily life and production, so it is difficult to have regular irrigation water. This is the first year that cassava mosaic disease appeared, causing economic losses to the people. According to Mr. Cu, for every 1 hectare, people lose 5 million to 7 million VND for land preparation and buying seeds, not including the care costs that each household spends.

Cassava leaves curl when infected. Photo: Be Vinh

Mr. Nguyen Xuan Linh - Deputy Director of the District Agricultural Service Center recommends: "Cassava mosaic disease is a particularly dangerous disease on cassava plants. The disease is caused by a virus with the scientific nameSri Lanka Cassava Mosaic Viruscaused. The disease can spread and spread rapidly through whitefly vectors and through cuttings.

Currently, there is no medicine to eradicate the virus that causes cassava mosaic disease, the only way is to prevent the disease and when the cassava plant is infected, it must be destroyed. The typical and easily recognizable symptom of cassava mosaic disease is mottled yellow mosaic on the leaves. When the disease is mild, the cassava leaves are not deformed or slightly deformed, when the disease is severe, the cassava leaves will curl and bend. For cuttings taken from diseased cassava plants, when they sprout, they will show signs of the disease immediately and will not be harvested. When the cassava plant is still young, if it is infected with the virus, it will not be harvested.

Up to now, 180ha/220ha of cassava in Chau Binh commune has been infected with disease over 70%, in some areas 100% of plants are infected. Although the authorities at all levels have taken action, the destruction and uprooting is still fragmented and small-scale. The staff of the Agricultural Service Center recommends that people must uproot and destroy all infected cassava areas themselves to improve the soil and wait for the new crop production season.