Abstract:
Rastrococcus invadens Williams is one of the main constraints of mango production in Burkina
Faso. Its damages were reported on other economically important fruit crops, vegetables, and
ornamental plants. The objective of this study, carried out in 2014 in Western Burkina Faso
during two consecutive seasons, was to establish the host-plant range of the mango mealybug.
Thus, twenty orchards were surveyed in fifteen locations. The inventory was conducted on a
radius of 200m along the diagonal of each orchard. The level of infestation of the insect pest was
assessed on the leaves or on the stem, depending on the type of tree. Beside the mango tree, 40
host plants of the insect pest, belonging to 24 families, were found. These included fruit crops,
food crops, ornamental plants, vegetables, weeds, wild plants and timber species. Vitex doniana,
Khaya senegalensis, Musa sapientum, Passiflora sp., Vitellaria paradoxa, Citrus limon, C.
tangelo and Tectona grandis were the most infested species by the insect pest. Fruit crops, weeds
and wild plants were predominant in the frequencies of infestation compared to other host plants.
The establishment of the host range of R. invadens will improve strategies to control this pest in
Burkina Faso. |
