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Biology of Termites: a Modern Synthesis pp 499–517Cite as

Termites as Pests of Agriculture

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Abstract

While pest species of termites are thought to belong predominantly to four families comprising the lower termites, the species causing the most damage to tropical agriculture belong to three of the four subfamilies of higher termites, lacking protist symbionts. A wide range of crops are affected, including trees in plantations and orchards, coconuts, palms, sugar cane, rice, maize, wheat, sorghum, groundnuts, coffee, tea, cocoa, yam, cassava and cotton. Market gardens and pastures can also be damaged. Organochlorine and organophosphate insecticides, once very effective agents of chemical control, are now prohibited or restricted, owing to their several toxicities, but alternatives of comparable efficacy in cropping systems are yet to be found. Integrated control strategies, combining improved cultural practices, attempts to increase plant vigour, and the introduction of biological agents to reduce termite populations may hold some hope for the future. Among the biological agents, entomopathogenic fungi and nematodes seem the most suitable for research and development.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unité de recherche Biodiversité et fonctionnement du sol, Institut de recherche pour le développement, 93143, Bondy Cedex, France

    Corinne Rouland-Lefèvre

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  1. Corinne Rouland-Lefèvre
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Correspondence to Corinne Rouland-Lefèvre .

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  1. School of Biological & Chemical Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Rd., London, E1 4NS, United Kingdom

    David Edward Bignell

  2. Behavioural & Evolutionary Ecology, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Av. F.D. Roosevelt 50, Bruxelles, 1050, Belgium

    Yves Roisin

  3. School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, 2006, New South Wales, Australia

    Nathan Lo

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Rouland-Lefèvre, C. (2010). Termites as Pests of Agriculture. In: Bignell, D., Roisin, Y., Lo, N. (eds) Biology of Termites: a Modern Synthesis. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-3977-4_18

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