Senegalese grasshopper—a major pest of the Sahel

Locust and grasshopper (family: Acrididae) outbreaks are ancient agricultural challenges and can be difficult to manage due to their fast population growth and high mobility. The Senegalese grasshopper (Oedaleus senegalensis Krauss, 1877) is a major Sahelian pest distributed from West Africa to India that attacks cereal crops. It typically has three generations during the rainy season, which sequentially migrate north to south with prevailing rains, and is highly responsive to land use and land cover change, preferring fallow fields. Depending on environmental conditions and the characteristics of the rainy season, outbreaks are observed throughout Sahelian countries from Senegal to Sudan. The National Plant Protection Organizations (NPPOs) of many Sahelian countries consider O. senegalensis a significant pest and include it in regular monitoring and treatment programs; however, resources are often limited. Community-based management in collaboration with NPPOs, as well as development of improved decision-making and management tools, can leverage existing infrastructures to advance sustainable pest management and food security.