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Geographic distribution and abundance of the Afrotropical subterranean scale insect Stictococcus vayssierei (Hemiptera: Stictococcidae), a pest of root and tuber crops in the Congo basin

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 October 2019

Armand R. P. F. Doumtsop*
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), P.O. Box 2008, Messa-Yaounde, Cameroon Department of Animal Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon
Rachid Hanna
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), P.O. Box 2008, Messa-Yaounde, Cameroon
Maurice Tindo
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Douala, P.O. Box 24157, Douala, Cameroon
Willy K. Tata-Hangy
Affiliation:
IITA, 4163, Av. Haut Congo, C/Gombe, Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo
Apollin K. Fotso
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), P.O. Box 2008, Messa-Yaounde, Cameroon
Komi K. M. Fiaboe
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), P.O. Box 2008, Messa-Yaounde, Cameroon
Abraham Fomena
Affiliation:
Department of Animal Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Science, University of Yaounde I, P.O. Box 812, Yaounde, Cameroon
Adolph Kemga
Affiliation:
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA), P.O. Box 2008, Messa-Yaounde, Cameroon
Benjamin B. Normark
Affiliation:
Department of Biology and Graduate Program in Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, 221 Morrill Science Center III, University of Massachusetts, 611 North Pleasant Street, Amherst, MA01003, USA
*
Author for correspondence: Armand R. P. F. Doumtsop, E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract

Stictococcus vayssierei is a major pest of root and tuber crops in central Africa. However, data on its ecology are lacking. Here we provide an updated estimate of its distribution with the aim of facilitating the sustainable control of its populations. Surveys conducted in nine countries encompassing 13 ecological regions around the Congo basin showed that African root and tuber scale was present in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon and Uganda. It was not found on the sites surveyed in Chad and Nigeria. The pest occurred in the forest and the forest-savannah mosaic as well as in the savannah where it was never recorded before. However, prevalence was higher in the forest (43.1%) where cassava was the most infested crop, compared to the savannah (9.2%) where aroids (cocoyam and taro) were the most infested crops. In the forest habitat, the pest was prevalent in all but two ecological regions: the Congolian swamp forests and the Southern Congolian forest-savanna mosaic. In the savannah habitat, it was restricted to the moist savannah highlands and absent from dry savannahs. The scale was not observed below 277 m asl. Where present, the scale was frequently (87.1% of the sites) attended by the ant Anoplolepis tenella. High densities (>1000 scales per plant) were recorded along the Cameroon–Gabon border. Good regulatory measures within and between countries are required to control the exchange of plant materials and limit its spread. The study provides information for niche modeling and risk mapping.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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Footnotes

*

Present address: Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Maroua, P.O. Box 814, Maroua, Cameroon.

Present address: Institute of the Environment and Sustainability, Center for Tropical Research, Congo Basin Institute, Box 951496, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, USA.

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