Papers by Jurgen Kroschel
Journal of insect science (Online), 2017
Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) is native to South America but has expanded its range and inva... more Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) is native to South America but has expanded its range and invaded many regions of the world, primarily on flowers and to a lesser extent on horticultural product shipments. As a result of initial invasion into an area, damage caused is usually significant but not necessarily sustained. Currently, it is an economic pest in selected native and invaded regions of the world. Adults cause damage by puncturing abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces for feeding and egg laying sites. Larvae mine the leaf parenchyma tissues which can lead to leaves drying and wilting. We have recorded 365 host plant species from 49 families and more than 106 parasitoid species. In a subset of the Argentinian data, we found that parasitoid community composition attacking L. huidobrensis differs significantly in cultivated and uncultivated plants. No such effect was found at the world level, probably due to differences in collection methods in the different references. We review t...
Despite its theoretical prominence and sound principles, integrated pest management (IPM) continu... more Despite its theoretical prominence and sound principles, integrated pest management (IPM) continues to suffer from anemic adoption rates in developing countries. To shed light on the reasons, we surveyed the opinions of a large and diverse pool of IPM professionals and practitioners from 96 countries, using structured concept mapping. The first phase of this method elicited 413 open-ended responses on perceived obstacles to IPM. Analysis of responses revealed 51 unique statements on obstacles, the most frequent of which was " insufficient training and technical support to farmers ". Cluster analyses, based on participant opinions, grouped these unique statements into six themes: research weaknesses, outreach weaknesses, IPM weaknesses, farmer weaknesses, pesticide industry interference, and weak adoption incentives. Subsequently, 163 participants rated the obstacles expressed in the 51 unique statements according to importance and remediation difficulty. Respondents from d...
Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatus (L.) Lam.) is the third most important food crop in Uganda. Although... more Sweetpotato (Ipomoea batatus (L.) Lam.) is the third most important food crop in Uganda. Although it is considered a food security crop, its productivity is far below its potential. This study assessed the pest status and farmers’ perception and management practices of the most economically important insect pests of sweetpotato, i.e. the sweetpotato weevils Cylas puncticollis Boheman and C. brunneus F. and the sweetpotato butterfly Acraea acerata Hew. A total of 192 rural farm households of the districts Kabale, Kasese, Gulu, Masindi, Soroti and Wakiso were interviewed using a structured questionnaire. Additionally, the abundance, infestation rate and intensity of infestation of all three pests was assessed and the root yield loss caused by Cylas spp. quantified over two growing seasons in the districts of Kabale and Masindi. Over 80 % of farmers grow sweetpotato for home consumption, emphasising its importance as a food security crop. Cylas spp. and A. acerata were ranked as the fi...
Misuse and poor handling of chemical pesticides in agriculture is hazardous to the health of farm... more Misuse and poor handling of chemical pesticides in agriculture is hazardous to the health of farmers, consumers and the environment. We studied the pest and disease management practices and the type of pesticides used in four root, tuber and banana (RTB) crops in Burundi and Rwanda through in-depth interviews with a total of 811 smallholder farmers. No chemical pesticides were used in banana in either Rwanda and Burundi, whereas the use of insecticides and fungicides in potato is quite frequent. Nearly all insecticides and about one third of the fungicides used are moderately hazardous. Personal protective equipment is used by less than a half of the interviewed farmers in both countries. Reported cases of death due to self- or accidental poisoning among humans and domestic animals in the previous 12 months were substantial in both countries. Training of farmers and agrochemical retailers in safe use of pesticide and handling, and use of integrated pest management approaches to redu...
Journal of insect science (Online), 2017
Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) is native to South America but has expanded its range and inva... more Liriomyza huidobrensis (Blanchard) is native to South America but has expanded its range and invaded many regions of the world, primarily on flowers and to a lesser extent on horticultural product shipments. As a result of initial invasion into an area, damage caused is usually significant but not necessarily sustained. Currently, it is an economic pest in selected native and invaded regions of the world. Adults cause damage by puncturing abaxial and adaxial leaf surfaces for feeding and egg laying sites. Larvae mine the leaf parenchyma tissues which can lead to leaves drying and wilting. We have recorded 365 host plant species from 49 families and more than 106 parasitoid species. In a subset of the Argentinian data, we found that parasitoid community composition attacking L. huidobrensis differs significantly in cultivated and uncultivated plants. No such effect was found at the world level, probably due to differences in collection methods in the different references. We review t...
BioMed Research International, 2015
In response to increased pest and disease problems, potato farmers use pesticides, which could ra... more In response to increased pest and disease problems, potato farmers use pesticides, which could raise environmental and health concerns. This study sought to promote proper and safe pesticide-handling practices by providing data needed to guide pesticide regulation policy and training for extension staff and farmers. A household survey was conducted in three major potato-growing agroecological zones of Uganda. Two hundred and four potato farmers were interviewed about the type and source of pesticides they use in potato cultivation, the frequency of applications, the use of protective clothing, and cases of pesticide poisoning. The types of pesticides used in potato were fungicides (72%), insecticides (62%), and herbicides (3%). Overall, use of personal protective equipment was low, that is, gumboots (73%), gloves (7%), face masks (16%), and long sleeve shirts (42%). Forty-three percent of farmers who applied pesticides reported having experienced skin itching, 25% skin burning sensa...
Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection
ABSTRACT
In response to increased pest and disease problems, potato farmers use pesticides, which could ra... more In response to increased pest and disease problems, potato farmers use pesticides, which could raise environmental and health concerns. This study sought to promote proper and safe pesticide-handling practices by providing data needed to guide pesticide regulation policy and training for extension staff and farmers. A household survey was conducted in three major potato-growing agroecological zones of Uganda. Two hundred and four potato farmers were interviewed about the type and source of pesticides they use in potato cultivation, the frequency of applications, the use of protective clothing, and cases of pesticide poisoning. The types of pesticides used in potato were fungicides (72%), insecticides (62%), and herbicides (3%). Overall, use of personal protective equipment was low, that is, gumboots (73%), gloves (7%), face masks (16%), and long sleeve shirts (42%). Forty-three percent of farmers who applied pesticides reported having experienced skin itching, 25% skin burning sensa...
The sweet prayers plant (Thaumatococcus daniellii) is widely found in tropical rain forests of We... more The sweet prayers plant (Thaumatococcus daniellii) is widely found in tropical rain forests of West Africa. Local uses are versatile, ranging from cultivation as fetish plant in Gabon to collecting leaves from its natural habitat for wrapping and boiling food in Ghana and Nigeria. The most exiting use of T. daniellii, however, is its use as sweetener or taste modifier. The aril of the fruit contains thaumatins, a mixture of extremely sweet proteins. In many countries, it is used by the food and confectionary industry for substituting synthetic sweeteners. Presently, fruits are extracted from the natural habitat and sold to buying companies. The way how the fruits are collected, is often not sustainable. Integrating T. daniellii in cropping systems seems to be a promising way to lessen these shortcomings, contributing to both income generation and diversification of crop production by small scale farmers. Knowledge on its cultivation is not available. This study aimed at collecting basic information on T. daniellii and its potential for future cultivation. Therefore, interviews with key informants and a field trial were carried out in the Western Region of Ghana in 2002. The evaluation of the questionnaires improved the understanding of production conditions and contributed to identify possible production and adaptation constraints. The field experiment produced information on light requirements of T. daniellii for field establishment and growth during early growth stages.
Insect Pests of Potato, 2013
Aphids are phloem-sap sucking insects that cause important losses to potato crops, especially by ... more Aphids are phloem-sap sucking insects that cause important losses to potato crops, especially by virus transmission. Aphid development, their biological and physiological adaptations, and their feeding behavior are key attributes that pose major challenges to the management of aphid populations and virus spread in potato fields. These attributes are reviewed from a perspective of pest management.
Broomrapes (Orobanche spp.) are the most economically important group of root parasitic weeds cau... more Broomrapes (Orobanche spp.) are the most economically important group of root parasitic weeds causing high yield losses in many essential crops mostly in the Mediterranean area, the Middle East and Eastern Europe. In North Africa, Orobanche constitutes a major constraint to food legume crops production and complete crop failure can be expected in case of heavy infestations. Application of natural enemies of Orobanche could be an effective control method to be combined to other control measures in an integrated weed management program. Consequently, surveys for natural antagonists (insects, fungi and rhizobacteria) of the parasitic weed Orobanche was carried out during the growing season of 2000 and 2001 in the major legume-cropping areas in the North African country Tunisia. Insects herbivores of Orobanche were investigated at 21 locations in northern Tunisia. Stems and fruit capsules from 315 Orobanche plants, sampled in faba bean (Vicia faba L.) fields, were examined separately fo...
This review summarises theavailable information on the biocontrol agentPhytomyza orobanchia Kalt.... more This review summarises theavailable information on the biocontrol agentPhytomyza orobanchia Kalt. (Diptera, Agromyzidae). It gives an overview of a rareexample of weed biocontrol using insects in aninundative approach. A high diversity ofphytophagous insects has been collected onparasitic weeds of the genus Orobanche(Orobanchaceae). For biological control of Orobanche spp., only insects like P. orobanchia whose host range is restricted toOrobanche spp.
A collaborative project, Predicting climate change induced vulnerability of African agricultural ... more A collaborative project, Predicting climate change induced vulnerability of African agricultural systems to major insect pests through advanced insect phenology modeling, and decision aid development for adaptation planning, funded by the German Federal Ministry of Cooperation and Development (BMZ), was implemented from 2010 to 2014 by the International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru, with its partners at the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology, Kenya, and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, Nigeria. The project further developed and extended the use and application of the free and open-source Insect Life Cycle Modeling (ILCYM) software. ILYCM was used to develop temperature-dependent pest phenology models for 19 important insect pests of agricultural and horticultural crops in Africa and to apply these models in Geographic Information Systems to understand better the impact of current and future climates on pest establishment, abundance, and spre...
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Papers by Jurgen Kroschel