Main Pests and Diseases of Cotton in Sub-Saharan Africa

This handbook is a practical guide to enable the rapid identification of the main pests and diseases affecting cotton crops in the cotton-growing regions of sub-Saharan Africa. Auxiliaries, which play an active part in natural equilibria, are also described. Certain incidents caused by natural or human factors are explained insofar as they might be confused with entomological or pathological disorders (lightning strikes, pesticide intoxication, nutritional imbalances, etc). However, the handbook does not make any chemical control recommendations. The lavish illustrations provide keys to identifying the symptoms observed. Pests and diseases are classed in order of their occurrence in the cotton development cycle: emergence, vegetative growth, reproduction. Information is also given on the biology of the pests concerned and of their natural enemies, disease transmission, varietal resistance and possible relations between the cropping system and the phytosanitary problems encountered.