Divisi
Dasheen mosaic virus
Dasheen mosaic virus · Viral
Photo: Plant pests and diseases · CC0
Dasheen mosaic virus is a virus of taro and cocoyam (dasheen). It spreads two ways: aphids carry it on their mouthparts from plant to plant in a quick, brush-past way, and — most of all — it rides inside the suckers and cormlets farmers save and replant. Because you plant your own material year after year, the virus quietly builds up and stays in your local variety from one season to the next.
Plant pests and diseases · CC0 
Plant pests and diseases · CC0
Why it matters
Dasheen mosaic virus does not kill the plant outright, but it saps its strength: leaves get patterned and twisted, growth slows, and the corm you dig up is small — a heavy attack can cost you as much as 60% of your harvest. The hard part is that there is no spray that cures a virus. Once a plant has it, it has it for life, and every sucker you take from that plant carries the virus into next season. That is why fixing this is about the planting material you choose, not medicine you apply.
When to act
Select and plant only symptom-free suckers; rogue visibly infected plants as they appear.
This guidance is general, compiled from published agronomic references including FAO and CABI. Thresholds and timing shift with your crop, your variety and the season.
In much of the region a spray is simply called mushonga — medicine. But a chemical group you cannot name is one you cannot rotate, and a product you did not write down has no pre-harvest interval you can observe. Mushonga, and other farming words →
The full dasheen mosaic virus field guide
- Identify it
- Scout for it
- Control it
14 field-guide sections in the app
The full guide to dasheen mosaic virus — every symptom to check, how and when to walk your field looking for it, and the controls that actually work, ranked. Built into your crop plan, so you are told to look before it costs you a harvest.
Crops it affects
Frequently asked questions
How do I identify dasheen mosaic virus?
The first thing you see is the pattern on the young leaves: a feathery, fern-like mosaic of pale green and dark green, with the pale colour following the veins so they look banded or outlined. Hold a leaf up to the light and the veins stand out like a leaf-skeleton drawing.
When should I take action against dasheen mosaic virus?
Select and plant only symptom-free suckers; rogue visibly infected plants as they appear.
How do I control dasheen mosaic virus?
Prevent it — start clean (your strongest tool): only plant suckers and cormlets taken from healthy, symptom-free mother plants. Where you can get it, use virus-free or tissue-cultured planting material (clean plantlets multiplied in a lab), and keep this clean seed plot well away from old, infected gardens so aphids can't carry the virus across. Choosing clean material is the single biggest thing you can do.
Which crops does dasheen mosaic virus affect?
Among the crops covered here: Cocoyam / Taro.
Catch it before it costs you a harvest
Divisi builds scouting into your crop plan — it tells you when to walk your field, what to look for at that stage, and what to do when you find it. Free for farmers, works offline.
Check what grows on your farm