13 Eyl 2024 Cuma
A study on the spatial distribution of Lixus species on Vernonia amygdalina Del. in Abakaliki, Ebonyi state
Abstract : The biological danger caused by some species of polyphagous insects is poorly studied and documented in Nigeria. Crop damage by insect pests could be due to biting and chewing of plant materials. Adults and larvae of many coleopterous insects and other dipteran larvae are concerned with this type of damage. The study was conducted to determine the spatial distribution of adult species of Lixus camerunus, cardui and bitubercalatus collected from different predilection site on Vernonia amygdalina in agrozones of Ebonyi State. The relative abundance pattern of Lixus species collected from the three locations showed that Lixus camerunus were preponderantly higher (49.41%) compared to other species. The distribution across the predilection site showed that trunk had the highest with Lixus cardui (42.67). The morphometric analysis for length and wet weight showed that Lixus camerunus with a total length of 2.7-3.0 is recoded the highest at (13.5) mean length and the wet weighs between 0.1-0.6 recorded the highest mean weight (17.50). This species seems to have posed potential dangers against Vernonia amygdalina farms and has contributed to deep economic loss. Preimaginal development occurs into stems, shoots, and leaf for food and nutrient. Therefore, the infestation of these beetles can affect the vegetative production of this plant thus hampering the nutritive importance.