Whitefly species efficiency in transmitting cassava mosaic and brown streak virus diseases

Abstract Whiteflies are vectors of plant viral diseases. The rate of disease transmission by whiteflies on cassava continue to present a complex of efficiency in relation to species diversity. An experiment was carried out to access the period required for viruliferous whitefly to feed on cassava plant for it to transmit both cassava mosaic and brown streak diseases (CMD and CBSD) as well as the number of whiteflies required for transmission of the pathogens. The whitefly species used in study were Bemisia tabaci, Trialeuroides vaporariorum and Aleurodicus dispersus in plant cages. The result showed that a minimum period of 6 h was required for whitefly to feed and transmit the viral diseases. Only B. tabaci species was capable of transmitting CMD, whereas for CBSD all the species under experimentation transmitted the disease. Higher density of whitefly led to higher transmission of diseases. The findings here highlight the complex transmission rate of these two diseases of cassava by different whitefly species.