Arboreal Crop Tree Termites in the Komkom Community Oyigbo Local Government Area in Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Abstract

Termites cause major economic losses by destroying agricultural crop trees. This study aims to survey the arboreal crop tree termites in Komkom community of Oyigbo in the Niger Delta. The study area was divided into 10 zones and 306 trees were examined for the presence of termite nests, hollow sounds and mud tubes. Samples of termites with its nest, hollow, mud tube and tree cuttings were collected from infested trees using metal spatula, sorted and identified. Approximately 9.5% of the sampled trees had some termite presence as arboreal nests, hollowness or mud tubes. The trees most affected were Gmelina arborea (Gmelina), Dacryodes edulis (Native pear), Persea americana (Avocado), Citrus sinensis (Orange), Chrysophyllum albidum (African star apple), Cocos nucifera (Coconut), and Mangifera indica (Mango). The termites identified were Odontotermes oblongatus, Microcerotermes annandalei, Microtermes sp (new), Microcerotermes paracelebensis, Neotermes spp, Glyptotermes kachongensis and Microcerotermes crassus. Eight crop trees - Anacardium occidentale (Cashew), Moringa oleifera (Moringa), Annona muricata (Soursop), Theobroma cacao (Cocoa), Psidium guajava (Guava), Irvingia gabonensis (Bush mango), Syzygium samarangense (Java apple), and Elaeis guineensis (Oil Palm) had no termite infestation in the study area. The result obtained in this study indicates the termite species that are pests of crop trees in the area.