ECOLOGICAL STUDIES AND SOME CONTROL METHODS FOR LAND SNAIL MONA HA CANT/ANA (MONTAGU) AT KAFR EL-SHEIKH GOVERNORATE

Abstract

In recent years the land molluscs have become one of the most serious pests in many countries of the world especially those with moist and rainy climates. _These molluscs cause serious yield reductions to field and vegetable crops, ornamental plants and fruit trees, as well as' destroying plant seedlings.

In Egypt, land snails have been located mostly in northern Governorates of Delta region, attacking various crops causing great damage' to the soft vegetative parts of the plants, moreover the flowers, roots and tubers.

The injured plants may intensely compensate for the damaged parts and the yield of these crops seems not to be affected, but at least the quality is reduced, so that the vegetable crop has no proper marketing rate and is reduced in its value El-Okda (1980).

Also, the land snails in common, leave viscous liquids upon different parts of the plants attacked, moreover, unpleasant garlic odour is smelt on infested plants making farm animals refuse eating on these plans (El-Okda I9so). Sharshir eta/. (1996) mentioned that the land snail Monacha contiana (Muller) became an important agricultural pest I causing a great damage to crops and orchards production in different localities. These snails were r corded with a relatively high population density on major economic crops at Kafr El-Sheikh Governorate.

Until now, mostly, these pests are .controlled chemically by synthetic molluscidies or insecticides (Crowell, 1967 and El-Okda, 1981). These chemical compounds are giving_rise to residues in foods, fruits and general environmental contamination (Ghamry, 1994).