Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part B (2025)

A combined survey and field experiment were conducted in the Kora region (northern Togo) to assess farmers’ perceptions of pest problems on solanaceous vegetables and to quantify the prevalence and abundance of insect and mite pests, with special emphasis on the invasive and destructive mite pest Tetranychus evansi. Among 38 farmers interviewed, tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), pepper (Capsicum spp.), and gboma (S. macrocarpum) were the main crops cultivated, while eggplant (S. melongena) was less common. Most farmers (73.7%) perceived yields as moderate, yet all respondents (100%) reported T. evansi infestations mainly during the dry season. The majority (84.2%) considered the damage very severe, with yield losses estimated between 50-90%, and 81.6% had abandoned their crops due to mite attacks. Chemical control was the dominant management practice, applied weekly by all farmers. In the field experiment, both crop type and sampling date significantly influenced infestation rates and pest abundance (p < 0.0001). Insect infestation peaked between 49-56 days after transplanting (DAT), reaching about 60% on S. melongena and 50% on S. macrocarpum, while tomato remained the least infested (<20%). Insect populations were highest on S. melongena (≈6.3 per plant at 70 DAT). Mite densities were generally low throughout the trial, dominated by Tetranychus urticae early in the season, with T. evansi appearing from the fifth sampling date onward, particularly on S. melongena and S. macrocarpum. The experimental results corroborate farmers’ reports that T. evansi is predominant in the dry season, as it was scarce in the rainy-season trial, underscoring the need to better understand climatic drivers of mite outbreaks for effective management.