Geographical distribution of the giant African snail in agricultural farms of Valle del Cauca, Colombia

Abstract

Valle del Cauca is perceived as one of the most important departments in Colombia, which bases its economy on agriculture. Among the effects that occur in the production units, the presence of giant African snail (Lissachatina fulica) has been detected, which has become a problem in the region, due to its voracity towards a wide variety of crops, including fruits and vegetables. The objective of the present study was to determine the current geographical distribution of L. fulica in productive farms of Valle del Cauca. For this, plant species of economic importance for the department were monitored as hosts and food source. Between February 2016 and July 2019, 1899 properties were visited, located in 41 of the 42 municipalities of Valle del Cauca. In each crop, transects in “zigzag” forms were traversed, in which 30 plants were sampled randomly in order to observe the presence of L. fulica. African snail was found in 14 productive systems such as avocado, chili, citrus, pomegranate, soursop, guava, lettuce, mango, passion fruit, papaya, plantain, pineapple, tomato and grape, located in 61 farms distributed in 11 municipalities of the department, among that stand out La Unión and Toro. Also, there was a dispersion grouped into three concentration cores, located geographically in the north, center and south of the department. In this way, the study generates base information on the current geographical distribution of L. fulica in Valle del Cauca.

Keywords

• biogeography
• crops
• polyphagous specie
• lissachatina fulica
• mollusca