Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 6
A
CYRTHOSIPHON PISUM
(H
ARRIS
)
P
USHES
C
OOL
-S
EASON
F
OOD
L
EGUMES TO
E
XTINCTION
IN
E
THIOPIA
Melaku Wale
Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia
A
BSTRACT
This review summarizes studies carried out on pea aphids,
Acyrtosiphon pisum
(Harris) (Aphididae: Homoptera) damaging food
legumes in northwestern Ethiopia (much of the high plateau of the
country is found here, over 2000 m above sea level) from 1998 to 2013.
The review summarizes of various papers on pea aphids published in the
area of wild legumes, aphid reproduction and survival, population
dynamics, suitable weather conditions, host preference and evaluation of
eco-friendly botanical products against aphids. During the initial studies,
we tried to identify how aphids over winter the rather long (9-month) dry
season. It was found that wild leguminous plants such as clover,
Trifolium ruepellainum
and vetch,
Vicia
spp and the cultivated ones such
as the perennial legumes (pigeon pea,
Cajanus cajan
) served as wild
hosts. These are believed to sustain aphid survival during the dry season.
In the greenhouse study, it was determined that the more the aphid
