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Dispersion patterns and monitoring samplings of termite pests in cocoa agroforestry systems of Southern Cameroon

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Abstract

Termites are major emerging pests of cocoa in Africa. However, their dispersion models on cocoa trees as well as their sampling plans remain unclear. Moreover, the effect of shade trees on the severity of termite infestation on cocoa is poorly known. We evaluated the severity of termite infestation on cocoa trees in relation to shade management in five cocoa agroforestry systems in southern Cameroon with shade cover ranging from rustic to full sun. The dispersion models of termites on cocoa were analyzed using Taylor’s power law, Nachman model and Iwao’s method. We then simulated the optimal sampling sizes for pest monitoring based on parameters of the best-fitted dispersion model using Southwood’s and Green’s formulas. Our results suggest that shade trees reduce belowground infestation by termites and encourage aboveground infestation; however, belowground infestation is more severe. Taylor’s power law was the best-fitted model to describe the aggregative dispersion pattern of termites on cocoa trees. The estimated sampling plans suggested that Green’s sampling was more precise for termites sampling, where less trees is required, than Southwood’s sampling. This study is pioneer on dispersion patterns and sampling plans of termites on cocoa and could be used by researchers and farmers for decision making about pesticide application.

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Acknowledgements

This study is part of the fellowship project (VW-60420894) of BDHB funded by the Volkswagen Foundation. We thank the Volkswagen foundation for the financial assistance provided to the first author for field work and for various analyses. We are particularly grateful to the staff of the Institut de Recherche Agricole pour le Développement (IRAD) for their support and hospitality. We also thank the Cameroonian cocoa farmers who made their plantations available to us and for their help and support during field work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Zoology, University of Yaoundé 1, P.O. Box: 812, Yaoundé, Cameroon

    Christian T. L. Djuideu & Sevilor Kekeunou

  2. World Cocoa Foundation, Accra, Ghana

    Hervé D. B. Bisseleua

  3. International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), Nairobi, Kenya

    Felicitas C. Ambele

  4. Food Security and Safety, Faculty of Agriculture, Science and Technology, North-West University, Potchefstroom, South Africa

    Felicitas C. Ambele

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  1. Christian T. L. Djuideu
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  4. Felicitas C. Ambele
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Correspondence to Christian T. L. Djuideu.

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Djuideu, C.T.L., Bisseleua, H.D.B., Kekeunou, S. et al. Dispersion patterns and monitoring samplings of termite pests in cocoa agroforestry systems of Southern Cameroon. Appl Entomol Zool 56, 247–258 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13355-021-00731-z

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