RESUMEN
Weaver ants, Oecophylla spp., are known to positively affect cashew, Anacardium occidentale L., raw nut yield, but their effects on the kernels have not been reported. We compared nut size and the proportion of marketable kernels between raw nuts collected from trees with and without ants. Raw nuts collected from trees with weaver ants were 2.9% larger than nuts from control trees (i.e., without weaver ants), leading to 14% higher proportion of marketable kernels. On trees with ants, the kernel: raw nut ratio from nuts damaged by formic acid was 4.8% lower compared with nondamaged nuts from the same trees. Weaver ants provided three benefits to cashew production by increasing yields, yielding larger nuts, and by producing greater proportions of marketable kernel mass.
Asunto(s)
Anacardium/crecimiento & desarrollo , Hormigas/fisiología , Control Biológico de Vectores , Animales , Benin , Nueces/genéticaRESUMEN
We report the results of a large-scale (six orchards) and long-term (5-yr) study on seasonal population fluctuations of fruit flies (Diptera Tephritidae) in mango (2005-2009) and cashew (2007-2009) orchards in the Borgou Department, Benin.During the five consecutive years of mango fruit fly monitoring, 25 tephritid species were captured including three species of Bactrocera, 11 of Ceratitis, and 11 of Dacus, which is represented by 2,138,150 specimens in mango orchards. We observed significant differences in Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel) counts between "high" and "low" mango production years from 2005 to 2008 but not in Ceratitis cosyra (Walker) counts. The native species, C. cosyra, the most abundant species during the dry season, peaked beginning of May, while the exotic species, B. dorsalis, the most abundant species during the rainy season, peaked in June. Preliminary results underlined the role of nine species of wild hosts and seven species of cultivated ones around mango orchards that played an important role in maintaining B. dorsalis in this Sudan zone all year round. The presence of C. cosyra stretched over 9 mo.During the first 14 wk of tephritid monitoring on cashew orchards situated near mango orchards, most flies (62%) were captured in traps positioned in cashew orchards, showing the strong interest of an early fly control on cashew before the mango season. According to these results, in the Sudan zone, effective and compatible control methods as proposed by the IPM package validated by the West African Fruit Fly Initiative project against mango fruit flies are proposed for a large regional tephritid control program in same zones of West Africa.
Asunto(s)
Anacardium , Mangifera , Tephritidae/fisiología , Anacardium/crecimiento & desarrollo , Animales , Benin , Femenino , Frutas/crecimiento & desarrollo , Larva/crecimiento & desarrollo , Larva/fisiología , Masculino , Mangifera/crecimiento & desarrollo , Dinámica Poblacional , Estaciones del Año , Tephritidae/crecimiento & desarrolloRESUMEN
During a disease survey of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) in Southern Africa in 1999, a major problem recorded by small-holder rural farmers in areas with wet soil types was reduced seedling emergence. Nongerminated, diseased seeds in these fields were either a brown blotchy color or had a soft rot and disintegrated upon touch. Germinated seedlings failing to emerge above the soil line were characterized by water-soaked lesions girdling the hypocotyl. Emerged seedlings had necrotic taproots and few lateral roots. Infected hypocotyls above the soil line had light brown lesions, and seedlings showed symptoms of wilting. Diseased seeds and seedlings were collected, surface-sterilized, plated on 2% water agar, and Pythium ultimum was isolated. Identification was based on characteristics given in van der Plaats-Niterink (1). Sterile soilbased compost, infested by mixing with P. ultimum mycelia (10 CFU/g of compost), was used to fill 104-cell plastic seedling trays (40 × 28 × 3.5 cm). A single cowpea seed was planted at a depth of 2 cm in each cell, and trays were maintained in a greenhouse at approximately 20°C. Seeds and seedlings showed symptoms identical to those in the field 10 days after planting, and the pathogen was successfully reisolated. Seedlings in noninoculated compost remained symptomless. This is the first report of P. ultimum on cowpea in South Africa. Reference: (1) A. J. van der Plaats-Niterink. Monograph of the Genus Pythium. Centraalbureau voor Schimmelcultures, Baarn, 1981.