Genomic Designing for Biotic Stress Resistant Cassava

Abstract

Cassava is essential food security, mostly in Africa, South America, and other major regions of the world where cassava is cultivated. It is very high in caloric value and resilient to climate change, drought, and low fertility. Biotic stress limits cassava cultivation and utilization with an impact that could range from 20 to 90% loss in yield and food quality. Diseases including viral, fungal, bacterial, and nematodes as well as diverse kinds of pests such as cassava whitefly and cassava green mites (CGM) are considered important biotic factors that impact cassava production. Diverse measures and techniques have been implored in cassava towards genomic designing for biotic stress resistance. These techniques range from traditional breeding to genomic selections and other new breeding technologies such as genetic engineering and genome editing. This chapter outlines the most significant biotic stresses in cassava, their prevalence, and impact on yield as well as different technologies being utilized towards the development of biotic stress-resistant cassava.