Susceptibility of Capsicum varieties to Thaumatotibia leucotreta (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) infestation for production optimization.

Thaumatotibia leucotreta Meyrick (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) is a major threat to the production and marketing of pepper (Capsicum spp.) in Ghana. To reduce the damage of the pest on pepper farming, it is important to find appropriate control methods, which may include the use of resistant host plants.

Mango phenology and fruit fly population dynamics in the transition zone of Ghana.

Crop phenological studies are vital in the formulation of effective integrated pest management packages. A 2-year phenological study spanning 2017-2019 was conducted in eight mango orchards in the transition zone of Ghana, to determine the relationship between the aggregation of culprit fruit fly species and the phenology of the mango crop. A total of 160 shoots were tagged and observed weekly for the plant's developmental processes using the Biologische Bundesantalt, Bundessortenamt and Chemische Industrie mango phenological scale as a guide.

Effects of Elevated Temperatures on the Growth and Development of Adult Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) (Diptera: Culicidae) Mosquitoes.

Higher temperatures expected in a future warmer climate could adversely affect the growth and development of mosquitoes. This study investigated the effects of elevated temperatures on longevity, gonotrophic cycle length, biting rate, fecundity, and body size of Anopheles gambiae (s.l.

Effects of elevated temperatures on the development of immature stages of Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) mosquitoes.

Objective: This study investigated the effects of temperature on the development of the immature stages of Anopheles gambiae (s.l.) mosquitoes.

Overview and future research needs for development of effective biocontrol strategies for management of Bactrocera dorsalis Hendel (Diptera: Tephritidae) in sub-Saharan Africa.

Infestation of fruits by native and invasive fruit flies causes significant economic losses. In most cases, incidence of 'regulated' dangerous fruit flies in orchards results in restrictions on export of fruits from such places to international markets. Unfortunately, use of insecticides applied on foliage and fruits does not kill the fruit-to-soil stages of fruit flies.

Analysis of microplastics in wetland samples from coastal Ghana using the Rose Bengal stain.

The use of optical microscope remains the most commonly used technique for microplastic identification and quantification despite major limitations with misidentifications and biases. We evaluated the use of the 1% Rose Bengal stain in improving the identification of microplastics after a standard microplastic isolation process. The stain discriminated organic materials from potential microplastics with significant differences between numbers observed before (6.

Risk of heavy metal ingestion from the consumption of two commercially valuable species of fish from the fresh and coastal waters of Ghana.

Background: The need to evaluate the human health safety of fishery resources remain urgent in the mist of the ever-increasing fear of heavy metal toxicity from the consumption of Ghana's fisheries resource, as a consequence of pollution from several anthropogenic activities including artisanal gold mining. Nevertheless, the bigeye grunt (Brachydeuterus auritus) and Bagrid catfish (Chrysichthys nigrodigitatus) remain commercially valuable fish species in West Africa and continue to attract high patronage.

Method: Forty-five specimens each of C.

Morphometric diagnosis of Glossina palpalis (Diptera: Glossinidae) population structure in Ghana.

Objective: This study aimed to identify isolated population(s) of Glossina palpalis in Ghana using geometric morphometrics to evaluate variations in wing-shape and size between populations of the fly from three regions.

Results: Wing shape of G. palpalis tsetse flies from the Northern, Western and Eastern Regions varied significantly between each other.

Abundance of African invader fly, Bactrocera invadens drew, tsuruta and white (diptera: tephritidae) and influence of weather parameters on trap catches in mango in the Volta region of Ghana.

The seasonal abundance of African Invader fly, Bactrocera invadens and the influence of temperature and rainfall on fly catches was determined in two agro ecological zones; moist semi-deciduous forest area and the coastal grassland area of the Volta Region of Ghana for year of mango production. Traps containing methyl eugenol were used in monitoring the abundance of the Africa invader fly, Bactrocera invadens where data on both temperature and rainfall were collected from Meteorological Services of Ghana in Volta region. A total of 49,322 organisms captured, 45,829 were identified as Bactrocera invadens and 3493 were non-fruit fly.

Evidence for competitive displacement of Ceratitis cosyra by the invasive fruit fly Bactrocera invadens (Diptera: Tephritidae) on mango and mechanisms contributing to the displacement.

Bactrocera invadens Drew, Tsuruta & White (Diptera: Tephritidae) invaded Kenya in 2003. Before the arrival of B. invadens, the indigenous fruit fly species Ceratitis cosyra (Walker) was the predominant fruit fly pest of mango (Mangifera indica L.