Volume 15, Issue 10 · IJARST · ISSN 2319-1783 / 2320-1126

Herbicide versus Manual Weeding: Ground-Dwelling Ant Assemblages in Young Cashew Orchards of Northern Côte d’Ivoire

Herbicide versus Manual Weeding: Ground-Dwelling Ant Assemblages in Young Cashew Orchards of Northern Côte d’Ivoire is an open-access, peer-reviewed research paper by KOUAKOU Kouakou Aymard, KOUAKOU Lombart Maurice Mesmer, N’GUESSAN Kouadio Kevin, KANGA Ami Léonie, published in Volume 15, Issue 10 of the International Journal of Advanced Research in Science and Technology (IJARST), a UGC-approved journal (Print ISSN 2319-1783, Online ISSN 2320-1126).

Author

KOUAKOU Kouakou Aymard, KOUAKOU Lombart Maurice Mesmer, N’GUESSAN Kouadio Kevin, KANGA Ami Léonie

Abstract

Cashew (Anacardium occidentale L.) orchards are expanding rapidly across the savannas of northern Côte d'Ivoire, where herbicides increasingly replace manual weeding. We compared ground-dwelling ants in eight young (1–5-year-old) cashew orchards, four chemically and four manually weeded, across two villages. Ants were sampled using 120 pitfall traps in May 2023, and topsoil (0–10 cm) was analysed. We recorded 1,109 workers representing 22 species, 10 genera and four subfamilies. Pheidole sp1 and Tetramorium sericeiventre occurred in 63% and 47% of traps, respectively. With orchards as experimental units, weeding practice had no detectable effects on species richness, Shannon diversity, Pielou evenness, worker activity-density or assemblage composition (PERMANOVA, R² = 0.13, p = 0.28). Herbicide-weeded orchards had fewer species overall (15 vs 20), owing entirely to rare species. Soil properties did not differ between practices or explain assemblage structure. Replicated, multi-season studies are needed to assess herbicide effects on soil biodiversity.

Keywords: Anacardium occidentale; Formicidae; herbicide; weed management; soil biodiversity; West African savanna.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.62226/ijarst20262843

 

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DOI

10.62226/ijarst20262843

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How do you cite this paper?

KOUAKOU Kouakou Aymard, KOUAKOU Lombart Maurice Mesmer, N’GUESSAN Kouadio Kevin, KANGA Ami Léonie — “Herbicide versus Manual Weeding: Ground-Dwelling Ant Assemblages in Young Cashew Orchards of Northern Côte d’Ivoire.” International Journal of Advanced Research in Science and Technology (IJARST), Volume 15, Issue 10. DOI: 10.62226/ijarst20262843.

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