Specimens collected from eggs of the cassava hornworm Erinnyis ello, originally identified as T. demoraesi, were compared with the paratype of this species. Based on morphological analysis, the specimens from E. ello actually belong to Trichogramma marandobai Brun, Moraes and Soares, 1986. Therefore, T. demoraesi is not a parasitoid of the eggs of E. ello, a major pest of cassava. The main feat...

The objectives of the present study were to characterize good-quality cultivars, identify relationships between local eating preferences and primary compound content, and reveal biofortification potential in tropical root crop species aroids, yams, cassava, and sweet potato. A core sample of about 500 cultivars was assembled to represent the widest agro-morphological diversity. Very high coeffi...

Cassava constitutes an abundant substrate in tropical regions. The production of butanol in ABE fermentation by Clostridium beijerinckii BA101 using cassava flour (CF) was scaled-up to bioreactor level (5 L). Optimized fermentation conditions were applied; that is, 40℃, 60 g/l CF, and enzymatic pretreatment of the substrate. The batch fermentation profile presented an acidogenic phase for the f...

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) production is currently under threat from cassava brown streak disease (CBSD), a disease that is among the seven most serious obstacles to world's food security. Three issues are of significance for CBSD. Firstly, the virus associated with CBSD, has co-evolved with cassava outside its center of origin for at least 90 years. Secondly, that for the last 74 years...

The effect of solid content (2.5-10%, w/v) and temperature (30-70°C) on the viscosity of tapioca meal from three cassava varieties was investigated in this study. Viscosity measurements were conducted using a digital rotational Brookfield viscometer. The viscosity of tapioca meal increased with increasing solid content and decreasing viscometer speeds. An empirical power-law equation fitted the...

BACKGROUND Cassava and corn milling is a growing small-scale enterprise in Africa. We aimed to determine the incidence of hand-arm musculoskeletal complaints among vibration-exposed Congolese cassava and corn millers in the previous 12 months. METHODS A cross-sectional study was conducted, prior to a follow-up study, from March to May 2013 among cassava/corn millers in Lubumbashi, Democratic ...

There have been four konzo outbreaks in Tanzania from 1985 to 2002/2003 with a total of 363 cases of konzo. Every outbreak of konzo resulted from large cyanogen intakes from bitter cassava during drought, which caused food shortages and led to people using short-cut methods of cassava processing. Rehabilitation of the 214 konzo subjects from the two most recent outbreaks of konzo in southern Ta...

BACKGROUND Whereas conventional white cassava roots are devoid of provitamin A, biofortified yellow varieties are naturally rich in β-carotene, the primary provitamin A carotenoid. OBJECTIVE We assessed the effect of consuming yellow cassava on serum retinol concentration in Kenyan schoolchildren with marginal vitamin A status. DESIGN We randomly allocated 342 children aged 5-13 y to receiv...