The use of glyphosate‐based herbicides in agroecosystems has increased over the past few years because of the advent of genetically modified glyphosate‐resistant crops and resistant weeds. This is alarming because of potential damaging effects on non‐target organisms. In sub‐Saharan Africa, for example Ghana, many rural farmers have not received training in the use of glyphosate‐based herbicides, thus tend to apply higher than recommended concentrations on farms. Therefore, this study investigated the effect of glyphosate‐based herbicides on beneficial insects under laboratory conditions, using Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Apini) and Hypotrigona ruspolii (Magretti) (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini) as models. The bees were put in contact for 24 h with the recommended concentration of Sunphosate 360 SL, a glyphosate‐based herbicide, 2× the recommended concentration, or distilled water as control. The effect of the herbicide on the bees was compared to the effect of a lambda‐cyhalothrin insecticide. Generally, more bees died after contact with plants freshly sprayed with the herbicide than on herbicide‐treated filter paper. In both cases, more bees died after contact with the higher concentration of the herbicide. These findings suggest that beneficial insects, specifically A. mellifera and H. ruspolii, may get killed if they are sprayed upon or come into contact with plants that have been freshly sprayed with (more than) the recommended concentration of glyphosate‐based herbicides. Therefore, it is important to restrict access and use of such herbicides to trained personnel who will comply with spraying guidelines, that is, recommended concentrations and timing of spray. Spraying at a time when insects are flying about may be detrimental to beneficial insects such as pollinator bees, parasitoids, and predators.

Avocado (Persea americana Mill.) is an important economic tree crop grown in home gardens and farms all over Ghana. Although there are some studies on diverse aspects of the crop in several parts of the world, not much has been documented about its morphology in Ghana. This study was therefore conducted to describe the morphology of avocado in the Ashanti and Central Regions of Ghana. Using the avocado descriptor as a guide, morphological analyses of P. americana accessions in eight districts in the two regions were conducted. The study revealed that the avocado accessions had variable morphological characteristics but were more close to the Western Indian accession.

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Pollution of Lake Bosomtwe is a major concern in Ghana due to its derived socio-economic benefits such as employment, ecotourism and major protein source to the people in the basin. Besides these benefits, the lake water is used for domestic purposes and has since served as the drinking water source to the people. However, the use of agrochemicals within the basin has intensified within the last decade. The problems associated with fertilizer and pesticide use in the Bosomtwe basin seem to carry with it a higher price, which, if not identified and checked, will overshadow the desired benefits of the lake. This study assesses pesticide and nutrient loads of Lake Bosomtwe in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Fifty-four (54) lake water samples were collected from September 2016 to February 2017. Pesticide samples were extracted using the solid phase extraction method and GCMS to identify the pesticides present in the water samples and determine their loads. The data obtained were analyzed using Statistical Product Service Solutions (SPSS version 20) for descriptive statistics. The concentration of dichlorvos was a bit lower when compared with the WHO/USEPA guidelines of 5 ppb for surface water. Diazinon had a mean concentration of 0.28 ± 0.03 ppb which was higher than the WHO 0.05 ppb and USEPA 0.04 ppb for surface water bodies. The detection of diazinon confirms the findings from the field survey, which revealed that diazinon, is an active ingredient of a pesticide with a trade name "Akate suro", which was extensively used by cocoa farmers along the banks of the lake. The mean concentration recorded for nitrate and phosphate were 0.15 ± 0.05 mg/L and 0.40 ± 0.12 mg/L respectively. The pesticides application inventory and implications of pesticide and nutrient loads on the lake are discussed in the paper.

Tephritid fruit flies, including Ceratitis ditissima, often invade citrus orchards. These flies cause economic losses to farmers and can prevent farmers from exporting their fruits to foreign markets. To detect the presence of fruit flies in citrus orchards, traps are baited with synthetic lures, which are often expensive for smallholder farmers. Farmers in developing or financially less-endowed countries have to import such synthetic baits, raising the cost of pest monitoring and control. Therefore, we evaluated the potential of palm wine and three other food-based mixtures for trapping C. ditissima and the proportion of non-target flies they trap. Transparent deli cup traps were baited with four different food-based baits, namely palm wine, sugarcane spirit-wine mixture, apple cider vinegar and yeast-sugar mixture. The traps were placed within a citrus orchard on fruit-bearing trees. The content of each trap was collected after one week and evaluated. This was repeated for eight consecutive weeks. Traps baited with palm wine captured more C. ditissima than those with the other baits. Furthermore, the proportion of non-target insects, Bactrocera dorsalis and Drosophila spp., in palm wine-baited traps was less than the other baited traps. This study indicates that palm wine, a cheap beverage across Africa, Asia and South America, could be used to monitor the presence of C. ditissima in citrus orchards. Smallholder farmers who cannot afford expensive synthetic baits could make use of palm wine to monitor fruit flies in their farms.