Contact with the plants will cause significant yield reduction. Herbicide performance depends on weather and accurate application and timing. Does not provide residual weed control. There are several virus diseases of cassava. However, none have been reported to occur in the United States.
Systemic diseases are also common in cassava.
Planting material should pass through a phase of tissue culture and thermo therapy. Cassava bacterial blight and Cercospora leaf spot are known disease problems in the United States. This emphasizes the need to select clean, healthy planting material. Since cassava is vegetatively propagated, virus and other systemic diseases can be carried from one planting to another in the planting material. Effective disease control for cassava is based on prevention.