Termite damage and crop loss studies in Nigeria—assessment of damage to upland sugarcane

Collins, N. Mark

doi:10.1080/09670878409370847

Cited by 12 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Many of the species from fields are known as crop pests in West Africa, especially Amitermes evuncifer, Ancistrotermes sp., Microtermes sp. (Table 1) (Wood et al 1980;Rouland-Lefèvre 2011;Cowie et al 1989;Collins 1984). Whether the occurring termite species are pests 9 because they are more resilient against disturbance or whether selection as pests made them more resilient is difficult to test.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We could identify several termite species in our study sites that are known pest species (Wood et al 1980;Rouland-Lefèvre 2011;Cowie et al 1989;Collins 1984): M. subhyalinus, Odontotermes sp., Microtermes sp., Pericapritermes sp., Amitermes evuncifer and Ancistrotermes sp..We found all these species throughout all fallows. Yet, especially Microtermes species, Amitermes evuncifer and Ancistrotermes sp.…”

Section: Pest Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Termite communities along a disturbance gradient in a West African savanna

Schyra

Korb

2017

Preprint

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Termites are important ecosystem engineers, crucial for the maintenance of tropical biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. But they are also pests which cause billions of dollars in damage annually to humans. Currently, our understanding of the mechanisms influencing species occurrences is limited and we do not know what distinguishes pest from non-pest species. We analyzed how anthropogenic disturbance (agriculture) affects species occurrences. We tested the hypothesis that strong disturbance functions as a habitat filter and selects for a subset of species which are major pests of crop. Using a cross-sectional approach, we studied termite community composition along a disturbance gradient from fields to 12-year-old fallows in a West African savanna. We reliably identified 19 species using genetic markers with a mean of about 10 species -many of them from the same feeding type -co-occurring locally. Supporting our hypothesis, disturbance was associated with environmental filtering of termites from the regional species pool, maybe via its effect on vegetation type.The most heavily disturbed sites were characterized by a subset of termite species which are well-known pests of crop. This is in line with the idea that strong anthropogenic disturbance selects for termite pest species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Pest Speciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Termite communities along a disturbance gradient in a West African savanna

Schyra

Korb

2017

Preprint

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“…Although the majority of the 2000 termite species known in the world are not harmful to crops, around 200 species have been identiÞed as pests of staple, vegetable or industrial crops (Harris 1954, Sands 1973, Mill 1992, Wood 1996, Pearce 1997). Among these 200 species, there are some genera of lower termites as Mastotermes Froggatt (Logan et al 1990); Kalotermes Hagen (Harris 1969, Sands 1973 or Hodotermes Hagen (Wood 1996) but in tropical Africa, agricultural pest termite species belong to the family of Termitidae (higher termites) and particularly to the subfamilies of Macrotermitinae (Brown 1965, Harris 1969, Sands 1973, Collins 1984, Mora et al 1990, Logan 1991, Wood and Pearce 1991, Termitinae (Sands 1973, Wood et al 1980, and Nasutitermitinae (Pretorius et al 1991, Mampouya 1996. The noxious action of these termites involves either attack on the crops themselves or construction of nests above ground that hinder or even prevent mechanical harvesting, leading to a considerable lowering of yield (Renoux et al 1991).…”

mentioning

confidence: 98%

Evaluation of the Effects of Thiamethoxam on Three Species of African Termite (Isoptera: Termitidae) Crop Pests

Delgarde

Rouland-Lefèvre

2002

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Thiamethoxam formulated as ACTARA 25 WG has been tested on three species of higher African termites: Trinervitermes trinervius Rambur, Odontotermes smeathmani Fuller, and Amitermes evuncifer Silvestri, which are pests of the principal tropical food crops (e.g., rice, maize, sorghum, sugarcane). The doses used ranged from 0.03 to 10 ppm. The effective dose for these termites was 0.3 ppm, which resulted in 100% mortality within 2-8 d, depending on the species studied. Excluding O. smeathmani, which consumed the product, thiamethoxam proved to be an anti-feedant but not repellent to T. trinervius and A. evuncifer. For all species studied, mortality was not dependent on consumption of the products, which acts principally by contact. In O. smeathmani, thiamethoxam could be transmitted in the colony from contaminated individuals to healthy individuals.

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“…In Africa and Malaysia, fungus-growing termites (Macrotermitinae) are considered to be the major termite pest of crops (Sands, 1973a,b;Cowie et al, 1989). of the Macrotermitinae (Harris, 1969;Sands, 1973a;Coaton & Sheasby, 1977;Wood et al, 1980;Collins, 1984). Harris (1969) reported that 53 species of termites have been observed attacking sugarcane in different parts of the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In Pakistan, Shahid & Akhtar (1992) estimated the maximum damage by termites to sugarcane reaching maturity as 11.8%. The average loss over three years was almost 18% for plants in a Sudanese plantation (Abushama & Kambal, 1977) and in Nigeria, termites were considered to be responsible for 22.8% and 27.8% of plant germination failure (Collins, 1984).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Foraging, nesting and damage caused by Microtermes subhyalinus (Isoptera: Termitidae) in a sugarcane plantation in the Central African Republic

Mora

Rouland

Renoux

1996

Bull. Entomol. Res.

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The ecology of Microtermes subhyalinus Silvestri in savanna and an adjoining sugarcane plantation in the Central African Republic is described. Other species of termites were associated with savanna and sugarcane but M. subhyalinus was the most prevalent and the only one causing damage to sugarcane. Damage to the crop by M. subhyalinus was assessed throughout the year. Termite attacks were confined initially to the root system just after cutting but as the cane matured and growth ceased, termites tunnelled up into the above-ground stems. Losses accounted for 5–10% of total annual production. The nesting and foraging behaviour of this species altered with the change from natural savanna to sugarcane cultivation. The vertical distribution of M. subhyalinus fungus combs in soil under savanna and sugarcane over different seasons was analysed. There was a linear relationship between monthly rainfall and foraging activity in savanna while in sugarcane no relationship was observed.

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Termite damage and crop loss studies in Nigeria—assessment of damage to upland sugarcane

Cited by 12 publications

References 6 publications

Termite communities along a disturbance gradient in a West African savanna

Termite communities along a disturbance gradient in a West African savanna

Evaluation of the Effects of Thiamethoxam on Three Species of African Termite (Isoptera: Termitidae) Crop Pests

Foraging, nesting and damage caused by Microtermes subhyalinus (Isoptera: Termitidae) in a sugarcane plantation in the Central African Republic

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