The papaya mealybug Paracoccus marginatus Williams and Granara De Willink (Hemiptera: Pseudococcidae) is an invasive insect species attacking diverse host plants causing enormous damage to crops including those of very high economic importance. Biological control of this mealybug is achieved through the field release of its natural enemy, Acerophagus papayae Noyes and Schauff (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae). The study aims to determine the developmental time and mortality rate of the different stages ...

Low phosphorus use efficiency (~20%) and high phosphorus losses from agricultural land to waterbodies is a growing global problem and exacerbated by climate change and rainfall extremes. Fertiliser use can be optimised and should consider all nutrients. Widespread soil phosphorus testing is required. In some regions appropriate control limits on phosphorus inputs will be needed, whilst in others an increase in P inputs will be required to improve/maintain agricultural productivity. An integrated ...

The role played by youth in agriculture cannot be overemphasized, while agribusinesses are important generators of employment and income worldwide. Improving the sustainability of food value chains can benefit millions of rural poor people living in developing countries, especially young women. Despite policies and programs aimed at encouraging agricultural entrepreneurs, they are still facing challenges such as high-cost agrochemicals, limited access to credit, price volatility, etc. which seriously ...

Following the development and dissemination of new climate-smart agricultural technologies to farmers globally, there has been an increase in the number of socio-economic studies on the adoption of climate-smart integrated pests’ management (CS-IPM) technologies over the years. In this study, we review empirical evidence on adoption determinants of CS-IPM technologies and identify possible science-policy interfaces. Generally, our review shows that socioeconomic and institutional factors are ...

Maize is a strategic food crop in sub-Saharan Africa. However, most maize growing tropical savannas particularly in West and Central African experience the occurrence of frequent droughts and Striga infestation, resulting in 30–100% yield losses. This production zones need maize cultivars that combine tolerance to the two stresses. IITA in collaboration with national partners has thus employed a sequential selection scheme to incorporate both drought tolerance and Striga resistance in topical maize ...

Nitrogen deficiency is the most limiting abiotic stress factor affecting the grain yield of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) countries. Breeding for high-yielding potential in association with high nitrogen fixation performance is the principal objective of cowpea breeding programs to improve both the productivity and production of this orphan crop in the region. Therefore, the present study was undertaken to determine the diversity of genotypes for nodulation capacity in ...