Diversity and abundance of wild host plants of lepidopteran stem borers in two different agroecological zones of Kenya

A survey was carried out between 2004 and 2005 in two ecologically different locations, Kakamega and Muhaka to assess diversity and abundance of wild host plants of lepidopteran stem borers as compared to maize plots during the cropping and non-cropping seasons. Kakamega in Western Kenya is characte...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annales de la Société entomologique de France 2006, Vol.42 (3-4), p.371-380
Main Authors: Otieno, Nicholas A., Le Rü, Bruno P., Ong'amo, George O., Dupas, Stéphane, Calatayud, Paul-André, Makobe, Martha, Ochora, John, Silvain, Jean-François
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biological and medical sciences
cropping season
East Africa
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Monocotyledons
Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection
Protozoa. Invertebrates
Records, symptoms, damages, economic importance, population surveys
Stem Borers
Wild Hosts
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Summary:A survey was carried out between 2004 and 2005 in two ecologically different locations, Kakamega and Muhaka to assess diversity and abundance of wild host plants of lepidopteran stem borers as compared to maize plots during the cropping and non-cropping seasons. Kakamega in Western Kenya is characterized by a Guineo-Congolian rain forest mosaic and Muhaka at the Kenyan coast by a Zanzibar Inhambane mosaic with secondary grassy and woody vegetation. In Kakamega, wild host plants and maize covered 2 and 43% of the surveyed area. No variation in diversity and relative abundance of wild host plants was observed between both the cropping and non-cropping seasons. In Muhaka, the diversity and relative abundance of wild host plant species differed between seasons, with the Shannon Weaver Index (H) of 1.67 and 0.95 for cropping and non-cropping seasons, respectively. Similarly in this location, wild host plant cover varied between cropping (23%) and noncropping (17.9%). During both seasons, this was higher than the maize cover, with 10.7% and 0% for the cropping and non-cropping seasons, respectively. For both localities, the implication of the differences found in the abundance and diversity between the cropping and non-cropping seasons is discussed.
ISSN:0037-9271
2168-6351
DOI:10.1080/00379271.2006.10697469