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Research Article

Life tables, key factor analysis and density relations of natural populations of the spotted maize stemborer, Chilo partellus (Lepidoptera: Crambidae), under different cropping systems at the Kenyan coast

C.A.O. Midegaa1a2 c1, C.K.P.O. Ogola1 and W.A. Overholta3 a1 Department of Biological Sciences, Kenyatta University, PO Box 43844, Nairobi, Kenya a2 International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE), PO Box 30772, Nairobi, Kenya a3 Indian River Research and Education Centre, University of Florida, 2199 South Rock Road Fort Pierce, FL 34981, USA

Article author query midega ca   ogol ck   overholt wa

Abstract

Studies were conducted at Mtwapa, in the coastal area of Kenya, during the long and short rains of 1999 and 2000 to evaluate interaction of mortality factors in lowering Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) populations in diverse agroecosystems. Treatments consisted of hedgerows of leucaena only, gliricidia only, alternating rows of leucaena and gliricidia, and three plots without trees. During the cropping seasons, maize was planted between the hedgerows while a row of cowpea was planted between the rows of maize. One of the plots without trees was planted to an intercrop of maize and cowpea. The remaining two plots without trees were planted to maize alone, one of which was mulched. The treatments were laid out in a randomized complete block design with four replications. There was no evidence of enhanced mortality in the more diverse systems indicating that the vegetation structure and cultural treatments studied did not enhance activity levels of C. partellus mortality factors. The highest mortality occurred in the early and medium larval stages in all treatments. This mortality was attributable to ‘disappearance’, which represented mortality from sources other than parasitism. The total real generation mortality showed that from the initial cohort of first and second instar larvae, less than 10% of C. partellus survived to adult stage under field conditions in all the treatments. Mortality by Cotesia sesamiae Cameron and Cotesia flavipes (Cameron) was very minimal, indicating the parasitoids were not important mortality factors of C. partellus under the cropping systems studied. Their effects were also not influenced by the cropping systems studied.

(Accepted March 22 2005)

Key Words: agroecosystem; life tables; mortality; Chilo partellus; Cotesia sesamiae; Cotesia flavipes

Correspondence:

^c1 *E-mail: cmidega@yahoo.com