Biodiversity and parasitism of Loranthaceae on citrus cultivated in the Mongo department

Abstract

Citrus farming is currently a main sector in Africa in general, particularly in the sub-Saharan region. Citrus farming in Cameroon has been expanding since the cocoa crisis and thanks to its financial and economic benefits. The research aim was to evaluate the parasitism of Loranthaceae on citrus trees in the Mongo department. Direct observations were made in the canopy of 796 citrus trees in seven arrondissements, and included species identification, and the Loranthaceae species growing on their foliage. Alive and dead tufts were numbered to estimate parasitism density and mortality rate. Five species of Loranthaceae identified on six citrus species. Tapinanthus predominated with three species, T. bangwensis T. preussii and Tapinanthus sp. Phragmanthera capitata was the most frequent (75.37%), and T. preussii was scattered (2.33%). The highest mean parasitic density was obtained in T. bangwensis has the higher parasitic density (5.76±5.17 tufts/tree), followed by Helixanthera mannii (5.42±4.13 tufts/tree). The highest rate of parasitism was obtained on C. maxima (89.77%), and the highest natural mortality rate of Loranthaceae was on C. medica (12.5%). Loranthaceae have already greatly expanded in Citrus, it recommended to set up a monitoring system to protect the yields.