Soil‐dwelling insect pests of tree crops in Sub‐Saharan Africa, problems and management strategies—A review

Abstract

This review aims to draw the attention of researchers, ecologists and farmers to the threats of soil-dwelling insect pests on important tree crops in sub-Saharan Africa, with a special focus on termites. It synthesizes the information on the effects of various factors affecting soil pest occurrence and damage, suggesting that the resultant undesirable effects of soil pests in this region are largely as a result of indiscriminate tree cutting, slash-and-burn agriculture and indiscriminate use of pesticides. Major insect orders, their host ranges and the nature of damage on selected tree crops are described. This study further critiques existing soil pest management practices, showing that majority of soil pest management practices are ineffective. Thus, management strategies like “attract and kill” approach based on entomopathogenic fungi need to be studied, developed and emphasized for the management of soil insect pests in sub-Saharan Africa. A conclusion section attempts to offer suggestions for ways in which future work on soil pests in sub-Saharan Africa could proceed.