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The eradication of Glossina morsitans submorsitans Newst. and Glossina tachinoides Westw. in part of a river flood plain in Northern Nigeria by chemical means. Part III.

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

H. Davies
Affiliation:
Veterinary Tsetse Control Unit, Northern Nigeria.
P. Blasdale
Affiliation:
Veterinary Tsetse Control Unit, Northern Nigeria.

Extract

An account is given of work carried out during the third year to eradicate Glossina morsitans submorsitans Newst. and G. tachinoides Westw. from an elongated fly-belt situated in the Sudan savannah vegetational zone of Northern Nigeria, which is an important cattle-raising area.

The total area of the fly-belt, which is isolated as far as G. morsitans is concerned, measures about 120 miles in length and extends, in places, up to almost 10 miles in width. The country involved forms the flood plains and adjacent uplands of the Komadugu Gana river.

Sixty-nine sq. miles were sprayed with DDT during the 1957–58 dry season(between end of January and end of April 1958), and 18 months after completion of work no tsetse has been found in the treated area. These 69 sq. miles formed the dry-season habitat of the fly on this section of the river, and the cost of insecticide and labour involved amounted to approximately £86 per sq. mile. As the zone infested in the wet season greatly exceeded this dry-season concentration area, reclamation costs per sq. mile, when applied to the amount of grazing land made safe for cattle, amounted to much less than the figure quoted.

Successful continuation of this project is ascribed to three salient features of the technique employed: —

(a) A single application only, of a 3·75 per cent, aqueous suspension of DDT from a wettable powder, is sufficient for complete eradication.

(b) A high degree of discriminative or selective spraying is possible: for the elimination of G. morsitans, spraying can be mostly confined to larger tree trunks, in shade, up to a hei ght of about 5 ft.

(c) Artificial or natural barriers to isolate each season's work, and so prevent re-invasion, are not necessary where the fly-belt is of a comparatively narrow and elongated nature. Spraying the re-infested area during the following season is more economical.

Type
Research Paper
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1960

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References

Keay, R. W. J. (1949). An outline of Nigerian vegetation.—52 pp. Lagos, Govt. Print.Google Scholar
Kirkby, W. W. & Blasdale, P. (1960). The eradication of Glossina morsitans submorsitans Newst. and Glossina tachinoides Westw. in part of a river flood plain in Northern Nigeria by chemical means. Part II.—Bull. ent. Res. 51 pp. 253264.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Maclennan, K. J. R. & Kirkby, W. W. (1958). The eradication of Glossina morsitans submorsitans Newst. in part of a river flood plain in Northern Nigeria by chemical means.—Bull. ent. Res. 49 pp. 123131.CrossRefGoogle Scholar