Abstract

Parasitic plants of the Loranthaceae family are responsible for the loss of shea trees, limiting fruit production and the survival of shea parklands in northern Côte d'Ivoire. The study aims to quantify the frequency of infestation by Loranthaceae from 2019 to 2021 and to assess the impact of silvicultural pruning techniques on the recrudescence of infestations. The methodology consisted of successively delimiting a 2 ha area in the shea parkland, recording geographical coordinates of the trees using a Global Positioning System (GPS), and assessing the level of infestation and re-infestation of the trees after treatment with three silvicultural pruning techniques (rejuvenation pruning, crown pruning, and parasite plant control pruning). The results showed that since 2019, only the Loranthaceae species Agelanthus dodoneifolius (DC.) Polh et Wiens was recorded. From 2019 to 2021, the new infestation rate was 24.58%. At both five and 24 months after the silvicultural pruning treatment of infested shea trees, no re-infestation by parasitic plants was observed. The average length of newly emerged branches on shea trees (potential rootstocks) after five months of pruning ranged from 8.44 to 53.40 cm. It appears that silvicultural pruning is a promising agroforestry technique for effectively controlling the Loranthaceae parasite in shea trees.

Key words: Shea parkland, Loranthaceae, parasitic plant, Global Positioning System, agroforestry technique.