Abstract
Cerambycidae Diastocera trifasciata attacks were studied from October 2015 to September 2017 in three cashew tree orchards in the locality of Brobo in central Côte d’Ivoire. One hundred fifty-three (153) cashew trees, arranged on a diagonal from each orchard, were selected for sampling. The attacked plants and the branches cut per tree were counted every 15 days. Biotic parameters, namely phenological stages of trees, and abiotic factors, which are rainfall, relative humidity and average temperature, were recorded throughout the study. Attacks were observed from mid-September to January from the pre-flowering vegetative stage to the flowering stage. Attack period duration was therefore four and a half months per year. The peak of attacks was recorded in November with an attack rate of 88.02% in 2015 and 75.49% in 2016. No attack was recorded from February to mid-September, corresponding to the flowering, fruiting and post-harvest vegetative growth stages. This description of the attack process and the determination of D. trifasciata attack periods provides essential data for the implementation of an effective and sustainable control method of this species.
Highlights
The cashew tree, Anacardium occidentale L., 1753 (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae), is a perennial plant cultivated and introduced in Côte d’Ivoire, circa 1960, in order to combat the threats of desertification and soil erosion in the north
How does the attack occur? What could the factors triggering these attacks be? This study aims at knowing the attack behavior and the link between these and cashew tree phenological stages on D. trifasciata attacks in cashew tree orchards
The attack area took the form of a “V” inclined on the left or right side depending on whether we looked at the left or right side of the attack area, respectively (Figure 3d)
Summary
The cashew tree, Anacardium occidentale L., 1753 (Sapindales: Anacardiaceae), is a perennial plant cultivated and introduced in Côte d’Ivoire, circa 1960, in order to combat the threats of desertification and soil erosion in the north. From this ecological role, cashew tree cultivation switched to a socio-economic objective from the 1990s due to the growing demand for cashew nuts on the international market [1]. Raw cashew nut production has developed dramatically It rose from 19,000 tons in 1990 to more than 700,000 tons in 2015, that is, 25% of world production. Cashew nut has become the third most important export product after cocoa and refined petroleum products in
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