ABSTRACT This research was carried out to investigate the species variability within Afrotropical stingless bees of the genus Hypotrigona (Cockerell) in three districts in the Central Region of Ghana. Hypotrigona species are common visitors to flowering plants in the tropics and subtropics. Structurally, the three known Afrotropical Hypotrigona species are very similar and pose difficulty in accurately identifying existing species. In view of this taxonomic impediment, this present study aime...
ABSTRACT Livestock are vital to subsistence and economic development, providing food, income, employment, manure and savings for Sub-Saharan African farmers. Diseases and arthropod ectoparasite infestations often impact negatively on livestock production and productivity. This study assessed the effects of arthropod ectoparasite infestations on the productivity of three ruminant (cattle, sheep and goats) livestock species in three Districts of Southern Ghana around the Volta River. A total of...
ABSTRACT Cabbage is a popular vegetable grown in Ghana and serves as an important source of livelihood for small-scale farmers, especially in urban areas. However, its cultivation encounters several constraints such as attack by insect pests. A key insect pest is aphid that cause significant to the crops as they serve as vectors of plant diseases. Farmers thus resort to indiscriminate use of insecticides to reduce the damage caused by insect pests. However, insecticides are associated with ad...
ABSTRACT Bedbugs are blood-sucking insects of the order Hemiptera and family Cimicidae that derive nutrition from vertebrates, including humans, their feeding is allied to the transmitting several fungal, bacterial and viral infections. A rise in international travels and emergence of insecticide resistant bedbugs within the past decade has led to renewed interest in studying these insects. Anecdotally, bedbugs exist in homes, boarding houses, hotels and other human dwellings in Ghana but hav...
ABSTRACT Tephritid fruit flies are a major threat to the horticultural industry in sub-Saharan Africa owing to the heavy losses they cause to fruit and vegetable crops, and the resultant quarantine restrictions. Addressing the fruit fly menace in Ghana requires effective stakeholder training along the fruit value chain, coupled with adequate research information on management strategies. Baseline studies were conducted in northern Ghana to determine the priority management training needs of f...
ABSTRACT Sweet potato (Ipomoea batatas Lam.) is a staple food crop for a large proportion of the population in sub-Saharan Africa. One important factor limiting its production and utilisation is infestation by weevils belonging to the genus Cylas, commonly known as sweetpotato weevils. The use of host plant resistance is an essential component for the integrated pest management of sweetpotato weevils. In this study, the susceptibility of some Ghanaian sweet potato varieties to infestations by...
ABSTRACT The sterile insect technique involves mass rearing of male insects for sterility purpose. This heavily relies on male fitness and genetic compatibility of laboratory-adapted male insects and the wild to ensure successful competition with their male counterpart in the wild. Uniform environment in the laboratory as compared to the wild conditions might lead to genetic drift which might lead to reduced sexual competitiveness, fitness, morphological changes or changes in the sexual behav...
ABSTRACT Cabbage is a well-known vegetable grown in Ghana due to its nutritional value and serves as a source of livelihood for small scale farmers. Its cultivation is constraint by insect pests such as Plutella xylostella (L) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), Hellula undalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and Brevicoryne brassicae (Aphididae) which cause significant damage and yield loss. Farmers especially those in the Ketu South municipality of the Volta region apply synthetic insecticides 12-15 times...
ABSTRACT Malaria is a major public health problem in most developing countries. In Ghana, it is hyper-endemic with children under-five years, pregnant women and non-immune visitors being at greatest risk. The National Malaria Control Programme recognizes the use of Insecticide-Treated Nets (ITNs) as one of the multiple prevention tools in the control of the malaria vectors. But due to problems associated with ITNs which include rapid loss of bio-efficacy as a result of repeated washings and l...
ABSTRACT The impact of irrigation schemes on malaria risk has been a perennial subject of debate in that transmission in irrigated areas can appear higher, less than or similar in neighboring non-irrigated villages. To study its impact on malaria transmission in the coastal savanna area of Ghana, adult Anopheles mosquito populations were studied during the dry season of 2002 - 2003 in two villages, Okyereko which is situated within a rice-growing irrigation scheme and Bewadze located 9.5km aw...
ABSTRACT Coconut oil and two types of palm oil (Palmin oil and Frytol oil) were evaluated for the control of the cowpea beetle, Callosobruchus maculatus (F.) on stored cowpea. The oils were applied at the rate of 4, 6 and 10 ml per kg cowpea. Oil treatment reduced oviposition and progeny emergence but did not affect the longevity of the adult insects. The highest dosage of 10 ml per kg seed protected the seeds for five months. Palmin oil appeared superior to coconut and frytol oil. The oils h...
ABSTRACT Laboratory and field studies were conducted to investigate the toxicity, antifeedant activity, moulting inhibition property and persistence of two neem seed extracts against the cocoa mirids Distantiella theobroma (Dist.) and Sahlbergella singularis Hagl. The study also investigated the effects of neem extracts on nontarget arthropods. Propoxur (Unden 200 EC) was used for baseline comparison. In the laboratory bioassays, the neem was applied at the concentrations of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%...
ABSTRACT Laboratory and field studies were conducted to investigate the toxicity, antifeedant activity, moulting inhibition property and persistence of two neem seed extracts against the cocoa mirids Distantiella theobroma (Dist.) and Sahlbergella singularis Hagl. The study also investigated the effects of neem extracts on nontarget arthropods. Propoxur (Unden 200 EC) was used for baseline comparison. In the laboratory bioassays, the neem was applied at the concentrations of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20%...
ABSTRACT A major constraint to increased and sustainable production of tomatoes is its infestation by insect pests particularly the tomato fruit worm Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). The control of this insect relies heavily on the use of synthetic insecticides which have negative environmental effects. Some insects have developed resistance to certain insecticides. Efforts are therefore being made to look for alternative control strategies that are environmentally-safe...
ABSTRACT Pesticide use pattern on exportable pineapple (Ananas comosus L. Merr.) (Smooth Cayenne) was studied in the Akwapim South District of Ghana through administration of questionnaires. Among the several pesticides listed as being used, only nine, representing 43%, had been provisionally approved for use on exportable pineapples. Farmers handled pesticides carelessly without necessary caution though they had general awareness of hazards of pesticides. Residue levels of chlorpyrifos...