Termites are important ecosystem engineers. Yet they are often difficult to identify due to the lack of reliable species-specific morphological traits for many species, which hampers ecological research. Recently, termitologists working with West African termites (West African Termite Taxonomy Initiative) convened for a workshop with the aim of beginning to address this problem. Repeated determination of the same termite samples by the most renowned taxonomists for West African termites identified the huge scale of the problem, as less than 10% of all species could be unambiguously determined to the species level. Intensive discussions and comparisons increased the identification success to around 25% at the end of the workshop. Yet many groups remained problematic and molecular markers and barcoding techniques combined with species delimitation approaches will be needed to help resolve these existing taxonomic problems. Based on the outcome of this workshop, we propose concerted initiatives to address termite taxonomy on a global scale. We are convinced that dedicated workshops on regional taxonomy that follow a similar structured approach, with repeated determination of the same sample, will help overcome the difficulties that termite taxonomy faces. This initiative can also serve as a blueprint for other taxonomical groups that are difficult to identify.

A few studies have highlighted the degradation of shea tree fruits mainly due to insects in Burkina Faso. The insects associated with these non-timber forest products are still poorly known, hence the interest of this study. The objective of the study is to make a qualitative inventory of the biodiversity of insect pests of shea fruits during the ripening period in two different ecosystems. It was carried out in 2021 in three locations of the Ziro province. 30 shea fruit trees distributed in 9 sites listed in agrosystems and protected areas were selected for monitoring and collecting insects infested with the fruits. The inventory identified 25 species in 13 families clustered in 5 orders. The order of Diptera, composed of 6 families with 15 species recorded, is the most dominant order in this diversity. Among the different families, 3 of them, Calliphoridae, Tephritidae and Muscidae, present at least 3 species each. 7 species are mainly associated with fruit damage with a predominance of Ceratitis silvestrii Bezzi (Diptera: Tephritidae). 91.33% of the emergences from infested fruits and 43.41% of the individuals trapped belong to this species. C. silvestrii, which presents a homogeneity in its distribution between locations and ecosystems, is therefore the main pest species of shea fruits in production in this zone. The results suggest the need to determine the economic importance of Tephritidae infesting shea fruits.

Les cercosporioses sont les maladies foliaires les plus importantes de l'arachide au Burkina Faso. Par conséquent, des méthodes de contrôle efficaces sont nécessaires afin de réduire les pertes de rendement. Dans la présente étude, l'efficacité des fongicides AZOX (Azoxystrobine), MANCO 80 WP (Mancozèbe) en traitement unique ou alterné contre les cercosporioses a été évaluée au cours des campagnes agricoles 2020 et 2021 au Burkina Faso. De façon pratique, une variété sensible, "TS32-1", et une variété modérément sensible, "PC79-79", ont été utilisées dans un dispositif en split plot à trois répétitions. Nos résultats ont révélé que tous les traitements réduisaient significativement la sévérité des cercosporioses chez TS32-1 au cours des deux saisons. Toutefois, AZOX et le traitement alterné ont mieux contrôlé les cercosporioses que MANCO 80 WP. De plus, tous les traitements ont significativement augmenté le rendement en gousses chez TS32-1. Les rendements les plus élevés de 2699,8 – 2710,7 kg/ha et 2053,3 – 2107 kg/ha en 2020 et 2021, respectivement, ont été obtenus avec le traitement alterné et AZOX. Les traitements n'ont pas eu d’impact significatif sur la sévérité des maladies et le rendement chez PC79-79. Les résultats indiquent que le fongicide AZOX ou le traitement alterné pourrait être utilisé afin de réduire l'effet des cercosporioses et améliorer la production d'arachide au Burkina Faso. Early and late leaf spots are the most important peanut leaf diseases in Burkina Faso. Therefore, effective control methods are needed to reduce yield losses. In the present study, the efficiency of the fungicides AZOX (Azoxystrobin) and MANCO 80 WP (Mancozeb) in unique or alternating treatment against peanut leaf spots diseases was assessed during the 2020 and 2021 cropping seasons in Burkina Faso. In practice, a susceptible accession "TS32-1" and a moderately susceptible accession "PC79-79" were used in split plot design with three replications. Our findings revealed that all treatments significantly reduced leaf spots severity in TS32-1 accession in both seasons. However, AZOX and the alternating treatment significantly better reduced the severity of diseases than MANCO 80 WP. In addition, all treatments significantly increased pod yield in TS32-1. The highest pod yields of 2699.8-2710.7 kg/ha and 2053.3-2107 kg/ha in 2020 and 2021, respectively, were obtained following with alternating treatment and AZOX. The treatments had no significant impact on diseases severity and pod yield in PC79-79. Our results indicate that the fungicide AZOX or the alternating treatment could be used to control the cercospora leaf spots and improve peanut production in Burkina Faso.

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A comparative study of termite diversity in three different ecosystems (of a royal court huts, Khaya senegalensis reserve and agricultural zone) was carried out in the south of Burkina Faso. The overall objective of this study was to assess the diversity of termites and how they get into the huts of the royal court to aid to protect the environment. A standard belt transect method and the systemic search were used for sampling termites. A total of 5 species belonging to 3 sub families (Macrotermitinae Termitinae and Nasutermitinae) and five genera (Ancistrotermes, Macrotermes, Procubitermes, Microcerotermes and Trinervitermes) were recorded. 77 huts in the royal court were examined of which 93.50% had termite attacks with varying intensities. The termites in the huts of the royal court of Tiébélé come from the wood transport areas. This study opens up perspectives for the control of these termites in the habitats.