Changes in total cyanide content of tissues from cassava plants infested by mites (Mononychellus tanajoa) and mealybugs (Phenacoccus manihoti)

Dietary and industrial uses of cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz) are threatened by the known presence of cyanide in the crop and its products. The toxic HCN content of cassava may be altered by some intrinsic and extrinsic factors in and around the plant, but the extent of any shifts in this regard due to stress conditions created by cassava green spider mites (CGM) Mononychellus tanajoa and mealybugs (CM) (Phenacoccus manihoti, now spreading epiphytotically in almost all cassava-growing areas in Africa, is unknown. In this study, we report variations in the total HCN content of leaf, stem and root tissues of six cassava clones differentially infested by these pests.