Biological control of the fruit tree mealybug Rastrococcus invadens Williams in Togo: a preliminary sociological and economic evaluation.
Vögele J. M., Agounke D., Moore D.
Author Affiliation: University of Hohenheim, Institute of Farm Management 410B, 7000 Stuttgart 70, Germany.
Tropical Pest Management 37 : 379-382
Abstract : Rastrococcus invadens, which was accidentally introduced into the West African region in the early 1980s, becoming a serious pest of mangoes and Citrus, has been the subject of a successful biological control programme in Togo and elsewhere in West Africa. It is now kept at low population densities by the introduced parasitoid Gyranusoidea tebygi. The sociological and economic impact of this successful biological control programme is evaluated. The economic assessment strongly suggested that the programme was very cost-effective, and substantial non-quantifiable social and cultural benefits were recorded.