Potential of Indigenous Pesticidal Plants in the Control of Field and Post-Harvest Arthropod Pests in Bambara Groundnuts (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) in Africa: A Review

Abstract

Bambara groundnuts (Vigna subterranea (L.) Verdc.) is an important leguminous crop native in Africa and is mainly cultivated for its highly nutritious grains. However, bambara groundnuts production is constrained by many insect pests including aphids (Aphids sp.), leaf hopers (Hilda patruelis), foliage beetles (Ootheca mutabilis), pod sucking bugs (Clavigralla tomentosicollis), red spider mites (Tetrunychus sp.), groundnut jassids in the field and bruchids (Callosobruchus maculatus, and Callosobruchus subinnotatus) in the storage. Smallholder farmers usually apply synthetic pesticides to control those insect pests. However, synthetic pesticides are potentially harmful to the environment, non-targeted animals and human’s health. Pesticidal plants such as B. pilosa, L. camara, T. vogelii, V. amygdalina, L. javanica, T. diversifolia, and C. dichogamus which are available in most parts of Africa where the crop is cultivated, possess bioactive chemicals which have insecticidal properties and have been revealed to be potential in the control of field and storage insect pests. Therefore, they can be used as an alternative to synthetic pesticides. Bambara groundnuts being one of the neglected crops, the insects affecting the crop have not been well explored in terms of their abundance and damage they cause to the crop in the field and on storage. Thus, in this review, the common arthropod pests of the bambara groundnuts and the potential of the bioactive compounds from the common plants with pesticidal properties have been described. It is recommended that the potential of these pesticidal plants to be investigated on bambara groundnut pests control on the field and on storage to optimize their use by smallholder farmers in insect control to reduce dependence on synthetic pesticides.