Termites Attack of Young Plants of Hevea (Hevea brasiliensis Muell.) and Effect of Using Insecticides for their Protection in Lower Ivory Coast

Abstract

The attacks and losses of hevea trees on the plot investigated were caused by two species of fungus-growing and subterranean termites Ancistrotermes guineensis (Sjöstedt) and Microtermes subhyalinus (Smeathman). The objective of this study is measure the attacks and the losses they cause according to the age of the rubber tree and evaluate the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of two insecticide treatments. The attack techniques are unique to these two kinds of termites, and they only impact plants that are deficient. The attacks begin 10 days after the stumps are planted and are not aggregated. During the first year, losses are higher (96 percent).  Paradichlorobenzene and chlopyrifos-ethyl were the two insecticide treatments tested, and chlopyrifos-ethyl proved to be the more effective. Paradichlorobenzene, the treatment most commonly used by low-income farmers, is ineffective in termite control due to its high cost.