Ocorrência do Cassava common mosaic vírus (CSCMV) e Cassava vein mosaic vírus (CSVMV) em variedades de mandioca na seleção de plantas matrizes em Santarém, Oeste do Pará, Brasil

Abstract

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) is a plant native to the Amazon, widely used for human and animal food, with potential application in several industrial sectors. Brazil is one of the largest producers of cassava in the world and the state of Pará is the largest national producer of the roots. Despite the high production, the state loses in productivity, which may be related to economic, biotic and abiotic factors. Viral infections are biotic factors that affect cassava plantations and can bring losses to producers. The main viral agents in the cassava crop in Brazil are Cassava common mosaic virus - CsCMV and Cassava vein mosaic virus - CsVMV, disseminated within and between crops by propagating material and contaminated tools. The diagnosis of these viruses is performed through indexing by serological and molecular methods. In this sense, this work aimed to evaluate the occurrence of CsCMV and CsVMV in six cassava varieties for the installation of a clonal garden with virus-free plants in the western region of Pará. Five leaf samples of 10 plants from a total of 60 plants belonging to six cassava varieties were collected from an area divided into 6 blocks measuring 10 x 8.8 m and indexed for CsCMV and CsVMV viruses through the reverse transcription method (RT- PCR – Reverse Transcription – Polymerase Chain Reaction).. The prevalence of CsVMV was found in most of the varieties tested, suggesting viral cleaning in the plants of interest in order to maintain the productive characteristics desired by producers in the region.