What is it about?

White grubs are the early stages of certain beetles which live underground and eat the roots of plants. They became locally important pests of sugar cane in Somalia in the 1980s. This study looked at which species were causing problems, their life cycles, how much damage they caused, how to sample them, etc. A fungus and a nematode natural enemies were found which might be used to control the pests.

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Why is it important?

Although the sugar cane plantation where this work was done was destroyed in the Somalia civil war, the observations as to which species were causing damage, their biology, how to sample them and their natural enemies remain relevant to neighbouring countries, and will be relevant again when Somalia is able to re-establish its agriculture.

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This page is a summary of: Observations on White Grubs Affecting Sugar Cane at the Juba Sugar Project, South-Western Somalia, in the 1980s, and Implications for Their Management, Insects, June 2013, MDPI AG,
DOI: 10.3390/insects4020241.
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