The International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), stands as the enduring legacy of the late internationally renowned Kenyan scientist, Prof. Thomas Risley Odhiambo.
icipe's mission is to help alleviate poverty, ensure food security and improve the overall health status of peoples of the tropics, by developing and extending management tools and strategies for harmful and useful arthropods, while preserving the natural resource base through research and capacity building.
The Centre's vision is to pioneer global science in entomology, to improve the well being and resilience of people and the environment to the challenges of a changing world, through innovative and applied research, alongside deep exploratory study, impact assessment, evaluation and sustainable capacity building.
Our Projects
Insect for Food and Feed
Use of insects as alternative sources of food for human consumption and feed for livestock is slowly gaining popularity in the world.
Insects are also valuable sources of minerals and vitamins essential for human development.
Tuta IPM
Tomato production is constrained by numerous biotic and abiotic factors. Among the former are arthropod pests, of which, Tuta absoluta is the key devastating…
Fall- armyworm IPM
Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is an insect pest which feeds on more than 80 varieties of crops including maize, sorghum, rice, millet…
Production of fruit offers one of the most important opportunities for income generation & improvement in food and nutritional security. However fruit flies cause damage by puncturing the fruit skin to lay eggs. During laying of eggs the bacteria from intestinal flora of the fly are introduced into the fruit. These bacteria bring about rotting of the tissues surrounding the egg.
Use of insects as alternative sources of food for human consumption and feed for livestock is slowly gaining popularity in the world. Insects are also valuable sources of minerals and vitamins essential for human development.
Tomato production is constrained by numerous biotic and abiotic factors. Among the former are arthropod pests, of which, Tuta absoluta is the key devastating pest. Infestation by the pest causes yield losses of up to 100%, jeopardizing the livelihood of millions of growers and other beneficiaries along the crop value chain. Alarmed by rampant spread and the destructive nature of this pest, growers in Kenya and Uganda have resorted to indiscriminate widespread use of broad-spectrum insecticides which is unsustainable with enormous health hazards to producers, consumers and the environment. This project proposes to implement an eco-friendly IPM approach for this pest in Kenya and Uganda that i
For many years, locusts, a dozen species of grasshoppers, have caused untold anguish to mankind.The mostly-used control methods for locust outbreaks, based on the use of synthetic insecticides, are extremely expensive. In addition, the large amounts of non-specific toxicants that are sprayed over affected areas destroy the environment and threatening biodiversity.icipe’s overall objective has been to develop components of a preventive, eco-friendly and cost-effective locust control system, based on bio-rational, semiochemical-based control tools and tactics.
Thrips are sucking insects that can cause some damage to plants thus threatening the production of legumes in the continent, causing yield losses of 20-100%. To control the pest, many smallholder farmers over-rely on chemical insecticides, compromising the safety of the yield due to unacceptably high levels of pesticide residues.Previous research by icipe, Keele University and Plant Research International, The Netherlands identified special chemicals (pheromones) released by male bean flower thrips, which can attract males and female species of the pest. Field assessments indicated that these pheromones can enhance the ability of traps to capture thrips by over 130%. Such behaviour modifying
Beneficial nematodes such as the entomopathogenic nematodes have a unique life cycle involving symbiotic bacteria that are pathogenic to host insects. These nematodes are successfully mass produced and available in many countries for biological control of target insect pests. In SSA there is a need to enhance research and use of these nematodes in biological control of susceptible insect pests.
Bemisia tabaci, causes severe damage to a wide range of host plants by sucking sap from the leaves. Genetic resistance was identified as the most important component of an IPM programme, followed by phytosanitary, cultural and legal measures. Biological control is only effective in cropping systems with minimal or rational use of insecticides, and should be considered only as a complementary IPM strategy.
Generally, spider mites prefer the undersides of leaves, but severe infestation will occur on both leaf surfaces as well as on the stems and fruits. They suck the sap of plant tissues. Damage by spider mites on beans is most serious in hot and dry conditions. Because they multiply very fast, they are able to destroy plants within a short period of time. icipe researchers report that a species of African nightshade has over time developed a sweet smelling mixture of compounds in its leaves thus when the mites reach the leaf’s surface, the “small hairs” on the leaf trap the pests, hindering their further movement. Additionally, the disturbance causes cracking of the glandular tips where they
Leaf miners are the larvae of the dipterous insect of the genus Liriomyza. The most common species are the tomato leaf miner Liriomyza bryoniae, the serpentine leaf miner L. trifolii or the pea leaf miner L. huidobrensis, mines in the leaves of your vegetable or ornamental crops. icipe’s biological control tactics include the use of entomopathogenic fungi and fungal endophytes (F3ST1, G1LU3, S4SU1, ICIPE 279), and use of neem-based pesticides.
Fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda) is an insect pest which feeds on more than 80 varieties of crops including maize, sorghum, rice, millet, wheat, sugarcane and vegetables, but primarily affects maize.FAW larvae attacks maize plants during all stages., icipe has identified other new and highly potent strains (icipe 41, icipe 655, icipe 20) that are effective against various life stages of the fall armyworm.Moreover, the Centre has established that the biopesticides can be used in combination with other fall armyworm management options like the push-pull technology, pheromone traps, attractants and the pest’s natural enemies.
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We gratefully acknowledge icipe core funding provided by Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), Government of the United Kingdom, Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA), Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, and the Kenyan Government. The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the donors.
The views expressed herein do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the donors.
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