Previous page | New search |
The free AfricaBib App for Android is available here
Periodical article | Leiden University catalogue | WorldCat |
Title: | Current concepts and approach to control of livestock ticks in Africa |
Authors: | Dipeolu, O.O. Mongi, A.O. Punyua, D.K. Latif, A.A. Amoo, O.A. Odhiambo, T.R. |
Year: | 1992 |
Periodical: | Discovery and Innovation |
Volume: | 4 |
Issue: | 2 |
Period: | June |
Pages: | 35-44 |
Language: | English |
Notes: | biblio. refs., ills. |
Geographic term: | Africa |
Subjects: | veterinary medicine Agriculture, Agronomy, Forestry livestock Amblyomma Rhipicephalus appendiculatus Pests--Control |
Abstract: | The devastating effects of tick infestation on livestock production in Africa have made tick control a necessity in the continent's livestock sector. Ticks infest livestock in the whole African continent causing enormous production losses due to mortality and debility imposed on the affected animals. The constraints to livestock development and human welfare caused by ticks have been underrated and considered as secondary to tsetse in Africa. This paper reviews the methods which have been applied to tick control in Africa and analyses their limitations. Subsequently, the current approach of scientists at ICIPE (International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology) in Nairobi to the control of livestock ticks in Africa is described. The chemical control of ticks through acaricide application is the most widespread in Africa, but this approach has several disadvantages. Besides the generally recognized disadvantages of pesticide use, the escalating cost of acaricides makes them directly inaccessible to resource-poor farmers, as well as being a major drain on the foreign exchange reserves of African countries. Tick scientists at ICIPE believe that the most effective way of controlling livestock ticks in Africa is through the application of low-cost integrated tick management practices (ITMP). Five areas of tick research serve as a source of information for the development of ITMP: immunology, natural resistance, ecology, farm management and biological control. Bibliogr. |