PAPER TITLE :INCIDENCE OF WEBWORM, (LOXOSTEGE MASSALIS WALKER) (LEPIDOPTERA: CRAMBIDAE) ON DATE PALM FRUITS, (PHOENIX DACTYLIFERA L.) MARKETED IN SOME NORTHERN STATES OF NIGERIA

FUTA JOURNAL OF RESEARCH IN SCIENCE | VOLUME 10 NUMBER 2 2014

Paper Details

  • Author(s) : 1*A. Muhammad, 2B.I. Ahmed, 3S.R. Yusuf and 4A.B. Mohammed
  • Abstract:

A survey was conducted between December 2008 and March 2009 with the objective of determining the incidence
of Webworm, (Loxostege massalis Walker) larvae infesting date palm (Phoenix dactylifera (L.) fruits. The study
was carried out using structured questionnaire with one hundred and thirty-five date palm fruit vendors interviewed
at three different business locations viz: markets, mosques and motor parks in three local government areas (LGAs)
each of Katsina, Kano and Jigawa States. Results obtained clearly indicated the incidence of L. massalis larvae in
date palm fruits sold in all the three States surveyed with Katsina and Kano States having the highest (5.16%) and
lowest (3.33%) incidence, respectively. There was significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) in the number of larvae found in
Katsina State compared to Kano and Jigawa States. Similarly, the number of fruits with larvae based on LGAs
shows that, Katsina LGA was found to be significantly higher in number of larvae of L. massalis (P ≤ 0.05)
compared with other LGAs in the States surveyed. There was also a significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) among the
business locations with mosques having significantly lower number of date palm fruits larvae compared to markets
and motor parks. The findings of this study clearly confirmed the incidence of L. massalis in marketed date palm
fruits in the states surveyed with 3.95% damage to the total number of fruits collected indicating that, the insect is
not of major economic importance. However, research is needed for its management.
Keywords: Business location, Date palm, Incidence, Loxostege massalis and Webworm