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Mitigation of climatic conditions and pest protection provided by insect-proof nets for cabbage cultivation in East Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 August 2020

Thibault Nordey Open the ORCID record for Thibault Nordey [Opens in a new window] ,
Emile Faye ,
Anaïs Chailleux ,
Laurent Parrot ,
Serge Simon ,
Nickson Mlowe  and
Paula Fernandes
Thibault Nordey*
Affiliation:
World Vegetable Center, Eastern and Southern Africa, P.O. Box 10, Duluti, Arusha, Tanzania CIRAD, UPR Hortsys, F-34398, Montpellier, France Hortsys, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France
Emile Faye
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Hortsys, F-34398, Montpellier, France Hortsys, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France Biopass, CIRAD-IRD-ISRA-UCAD, Dakar, Senegal
Anaïs Chailleux
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Hortsys, F-34398, Montpellier, France Hortsys, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France Biopass, CIRAD-IRD-ISRA-UCAD, Dakar, Senegal
Laurent Parrot
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Hortsys, F-34398, Montpellier, France Hortsys, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France Campus Agro-environnemental Caraïbe, Petit Morne BP 214, 97285, Le Lamentin Cedex 2, Martinique, France
Serge Simon
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Hortsys, F-34398, Montpellier, France Hortsys, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France Campus Agro-environnemental Caraïbe, Petit Morne BP 214, 97285, Le Lamentin Cedex 2, Martinique, France
Nickson Mlowe
Affiliation:
World Vegetable Center, Eastern and Southern Africa, P.O. Box 10, Duluti, Arusha, Tanzania
Paula Fernandes
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Hortsys, F-34398, Montpellier, France Hortsys, CIRAD, University of Montpellier, Montpellier, France LEMSAT - Centre IRD-ISRA-UCAD Bel-Air - B.P. 1386 - 18524, Dakar, Senegal
*
*Corresponding author. Email: thibault.nordey@cirad.fr
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Summary

Although several studies have underlined the advantages of using insect-proof nets to improve yields while reducing the use of pesticides, one obstacle to the diffusion of this technique in tropical conditions is the associated increase in temperature in the tunnel. The aim of this work was to assess the interest of combining the physical protection provided by nets against insect pests with the beneficial impacts of using shade nets to grow cabbages. A two-season experiment was set up to compare temperature conditions, insect pest populations, yields, and the quality of cabbage crops grown in the open field and in low tunnels covered with nets providing different degrees of shading, 17.2% by white and 50.1% by silver nets. During the day, the temperature under the white and silver nets was 10.4 °C and 6.3 °C higher, respectively, than in the open field in the first season, and 6.5 °C and 5.9 °C higher in the second season. Both insect-proof nets significantly reduced insect pest populations and hence the need for insecticide treatments. The white nets increased marketable yield by 45.4% in the first season and by 16.4% in the second compared to yields in the open field, whereas silver nets reduced yield by 18.6% and 15.0%, respectively. The reduction in yield under silver nets was attributed to excessive shading that prevented the light requirements of cabbage crops from being fulfilled. Economic analysis raised some concerns about the profitability of the use of netting to grow cabbage due to investment costs and the lack of premium prices for vegetables produced with fewer pesticides in local markets.

Keywords

AfricaPest managementTemperatureTropical conditionsVegetables
Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 56 , Issue 4 , August 2020 , pp. 608 - 619
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Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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