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Integrated control of the cattle tick, Rhipicephalus australis (Acari: Ixodidae), in New Caledonia through the Pasture and Cattle Management method

  • Arthropods and Medical Entomology - Original Paper
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Abstract

Development of the Pasture and Cattle Management (PCM) method is a priority to control the cattle tick, Rhipicephalus australis, in New Caledonia. The PCM method provides the foundation for sustainable integrated tick control because approximately 95% of cattle ticks in infested pastures are off the host in the non-parasitic life stages, and the practice of treating cattle intensely with chemical acaricides is a risk for the emergence of resistance to these active ingredients in commercial acaricidal products available for veterinary use. Here, we report the findings of an assessment survey to document the utility of the PCM method. Analyses of questionnaire data provided by 21 beef cattle producers describing their management of 37 herds informed how to (1) assess the ability of PCM to reduce acaricide use and (2) prioritize best practices and define recommendations to breeders promoting efficient tick control with minimum acaricide use. Boosted regression tree analysis showed a significant (p = 0.002) reduction of ≈33% in the number of acaricide treatments from 7.9 to 5.3 per year by using PCM. Of the 24 factors identified as potentially affecting acaricide use, six factors accounted for ≈86% of the variability in number of acaricide treatments applied annually. The six most influential factors involved farm characteristics as well as pasture and herd management recommendations. These results demonstrated the usefulness of PCM for integrated control of R. australis infestations while reducing acaricide use to improve cattle production in New Caledonia.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the technicians of the CANC/GDSA for their help in data collection. Mention of trade names or commercial products in this publication is solely for the purpose of providing specific information and does not imply recommendation or endorsement by the authors. USDA is an equal opportunity provider and employer.

Funding

The research of T. Hüe was funded by the 2017–2021 Development Contract with contributions from the French Government, the New Caledonian Government, and the South, North, and Loyalty Islands Provinces. H.-H. Wang was partially supported by USDA-ARS and USDA-APHIS projects 58–3094-8–010 and 58–3094-9–016. The research of A.A. Pérez de León was funded through USDA-ARS appropriated project number: 3094–32000-042–00-D.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire de Parasitologie Animale, Institut Agronomique néo-Calédonien (IAC), BP73, Païta, New Caledonia

    Thomas Hüe & Anna Berger

  2. Ecological Systems Laboratory, Department of Ecology and Conservation Biology, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA

    Hsiao-Hsuan Wang & William E. Grant

  3. Department of Entomology, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, College Station, TX, USA

    Pete D. Teel

  4. Agricultural Research Service, Knipling-Bushland U.S. Livestock Insects Research Laboratory and Veterinary Pest Genomics Center, USDA, 2700 Fredericksburg Rd., Kerrville, TX, 78028, USA

    Adalberto A. Pérez de León

  5. USDA-ARS San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center, 9611 S. Riverbend Av., Parlier, CA, 93648, USA

    Adalberto A. Pérez de León

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  1. Thomas Hüe
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  2. Anna Berger
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  3. Hsiao-Hsuan Wang
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  4. William E. Grant
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  5. Pete D. Teel
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  6. Adalberto A. Pérez de León
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Contributions

Thomas Hüe: conceptualization, methodology, writing (original draft), supervision. Anna Berger: investigation and resources. Hsiao-Hsuan Wang: methodology, software, formal analysis, and writing (original draft). William E. Grant: methodology, validation, and writing (review and editing). Pete D. Teel: validation and writing (review and editing). Adalberto A. Pérez de León: validation and writing (review and editing).

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Correspondence to Thomas Hüe.

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Hüe, T., Berger, A., Wang, HH. et al. Integrated control of the cattle tick, Rhipicephalus australis (Acari: Ixodidae), in New Caledonia through the Pasture and Cattle Management method. Parasitol Res 120, 2749–2758 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-021-07235-3

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