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Remote sensing of rainfall by satellite as an aid to Oedaleus senegalensis (Orthoptera: Acrididae) control in the Sahel

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 July 2009

P.J.A. Burt ,
J. Colvin  and
S.M. Smith
P.J.A. Burt*
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Institute, Chatham Maritime, UK
J. Colvin
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Institute, Chatham Maritime, UK
S.M. Smith
Affiliation:
Natural Resources Institute, Chatham Maritime, UK
*
Dr P.J.A. Burt, Natural Resources Institute, Central Avenue, Chatham Maritime, Chatham ME4 4TB, UK.
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Abstract

The Senegalese grasshopper, Oedaleus senegalensis (Krauss) (Orthoptera: Acrididae), is a major grasshopper pest of subsistence crops in the West African Sahel. In northern Mali, O. senegalensis spends the dry season in the egg stage in the soil and eclosion is triggered by the first rains which usually occur in May and June. Satellite imagery potentially enables rainfall, and hense O. senegalensis eclosion, to be monitored over much wider areas than those possible for ground-based observers. In 1990 and 1991, rain-gauge networks were set up at Mourdiah, northern Mali, and for each storm event, rainfall and Meteosat infra-red data were collected. The coldest convection clouds (< -70°C) produced rain 93.1% (n = 15) of the time, whereas warmer cloud (>- 10°C) produced rain only once (n = 61). The relationship between minimum cloud temperature and log transformed rainfall data was negative and highly significant (P < 0.0005). The maximum rain-gauge separation for reliable point measurements of rainfall was 8 km. Simulated rainfall experiments showed that O. senegalensis eclosion is influenced both by soil type and by the quantity of water added to the soil. A grasshopper survey after the first rain in 1994 showed that 8 mm of rain was sufficient to cause eclosion 9 days later. The implications of these results for improved O. senegalensis control are discussed.

Type
Original Articles
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 85 , Issue 4 , December 1995 , pp. 455 - 462
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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