Benjamin Madama, Rwegasira Gration M
Department of Crop Science and Horticulture, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania.
Front Insect Sci. 2024 Sep 18;4:1385653. doi: 10.3389/finsc.2024.1385653. eCollection 2024.
Cotton production in Tanzania is facing significant challenges due to insect pests that cause extensive damages to the crop. The most notable pests include the African bollworm ( Hubner), Spiny bollworm ( Walker), Cotton stainers ( (Herrich-Schaeffer), Cotton Aphids ( Glover), Thrips ( Lindeman), Jassids (, Bigutula), Leafhoppers (), and Whiteflies ( Genn). If left uncontrolled, these pests can cause up to 60% damage to the crop. Despite the importance of cotton and the fact that most of these pests are endemic, there are scanty knowledge on the dynamics and distribution of cotton pests across the seasons of the year and crop's phenological growth stages (germination, vegetative growth, flowering and boll formation) in areas under repeated cultivation of the crop in Tanzania. Here we report on the influence of seasons and cotton's phenological stages on the abundance, diversity, distribution and richness of cotton insect pests.
The study was conducted in the Misungwi district for two cotton-growing seasons, using the UKM08 cotton variety. Stick traps and handpicking methods were deployed in catching the cotton insect pests.
On average, a total of 8,500 insect specimen of diverse families and species were collected every season. The four dominant species among the collected were (17.37%), (11.42%), (10.7%), and (10.68%). Both cotton phenological growth stages and seasons significantly (<0.05) influenced the abundance, diversity, distribution and richness of cotton insect pests. In particular, the phenological growth stage 3 exhibited greater diversity of insect pests. The pests' distribution patterns remained relatively uniform across the crop growth stages.
Findings from the present study could contribute to developing sustainable pest management strategies in areas under repeated cotton production in Tanzania and elsewhere.
坦桑尼亚的棉花生产正面临重大挑战，因为害虫对作物造成了广泛损害。最显著的害虫包括棉铃虫（Hubner）、刺棉铃虫（Walker）、棉红蝽（(Herrich-Schaeffer)）、棉蚜（Glover）、蓟马（Lindeman）、叶蝉（, Bigutula）、叶跳虫（）和粉虱（Genn）。如果不加以控制，这些害虫会对作物造成高达60%的损害。尽管棉花很重要，且这些害虫大多是本地特有的，但在坦桑尼亚棉花反复种植的地区，对于一年中不同季节以及作物物候生长阶段（发芽、营养生长、开花和结铃）期间棉花害虫的动态和分布，人们了解甚少。在此，我们报告季节和棉花物候阶段对棉花害虫的数量、多样性、分布和丰富度的影响。
本研究在米苏恩维区进行了两个棉花种植季节，使用UKM08棉花品种。采用粘虫板诱捕和手工采摘的方法捕捉棉花害虫。
每个季节平均共收集到8500个来自不同科和种的昆虫标本。所收集的昆虫中，四种优势物种分别是（17.37%）、（11.42%）、（10.7%）和（10.68%）。棉花物候生长阶段和季节均对棉花害虫的数量、多样性、分布和丰富度有显著影响（<0.05）。特别是物候生长阶段3的害虫多样性更高。害虫在作物生长阶段的分布模式相对保持一致。
本研究结果有助于在坦桑尼亚及其他地区棉花反复种植的区域制定可持续的害虫管理策略。
