INFLUENCE OF WOODY FRUIT SPECIES SUSCEPTIBLE TO LORANTHACEAE ON THE LEVEL OF INFESTATION OF COCOA TREES: CASE OF AGROFORESTRY COCOA FARMING SYSTEMS IN DALOA (COTE DIVOIRE)

Objectives: Cocoa farms integrate silvicultural practices into agricultural operations, making it possible to build agroforestry systems favoring the conservation of useful woody and fruit species. Unfortunately, these species are parasitized to varying degrees by Loranthaceae, thus becoming foci of infestation within cocoa plantations. The present study was undertaken to gain a better understanding of these Loranthaceae parasites of fruiting species in cocoa plantations and to assess the influence of susceptibility to these species on the degree of infestation of cocoa trees.

Methods: Floristic inventories carried out in 16 agroforestry cocoa-growing systems in four localities around Daloa.

Results: Three Loranthaceae species: Phragmanthera capitata, Tapinanthus bangwensis and T. globiferus parasitize 60 woody fruit species both wild and cultivated. T. bangwensis, with a high preponderance of host taxa, is the main parasitic species. These 60 fruit species belong to 44 genera in 25 families. The families most affected are the Rutaceae (7 taxa), followed by the Anacardiaceae, Annonaceae and Myrtaceae (6 taxa each). The results revealed an incidence of Loranthaceae parasitism of 39.66  7.07% on woody fruit trees and 40.65  4.26% on cocoa trees. A positive correlation was observed between the incidence of Loranthaceae on these woody fruit trees and that observed on cocoa trees.

Conclusion:The results underline the importance of selecting woody species associated with cocoa trees that are less susceptible to Loranthaceae. Further research is recommended to identify these species and develop sustainable cocoa management strategies.