Identifying the plague of Southeast Asian farmers with the help of sequencing

According to ISNA, DNA sequencing technology revealed a disease in plants in Southeast Asia. The results of this nano method showed that cassava witches' broom disease is caused by a type of fungus called Ceratobasidium. Nanocavity technology has been used in the past years to identify various diseases such as corona, but the same method can also be used to investigate plant diseases. The findings, published in Scientific Reports, will help plant pathologists in Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand protect the valuable cassava crop. In Southeast Asia, most small farmers depend on cassava for their livelihoods, says Wilmer Kovlar. Starch-rich roots form the basis of an industry that supports millions of growers. Over the past decade, cassava witches' broom disease has decimated the plant. The loss of cassava fields has made life difficult for farmers. Since 2017, the researchers of Alliance Bioversity International - CIAT have used nanotechnology in their research, especially the ...