The work of Paul André Calatayud and its team in Kenya has been published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment: P.-A. Calatayud, E. Njuguna, S. Mwalusepo, M. Gathara, G. Okuku, A. Kibe, B. Musyoka, D. Williamson, G. Ong’amo, G. Juma, T. Johansson, S. Subramanian, E. Gatebe, B. Le Ru. Can climate-driven change influence silicon assimilation by cereals and hence the distribution of lepidopteran stem borers in East Africa? Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, 2016, Vol 224, p. 95–103. doi:10.1016/j.agee.2016.03.040.
Scientists showed that two species of corn insect pests in Kenya, Busseola fusca and Chilo partellus, display different food behavior depending on the concentration of silicon in the plant’s leaves. Silicon concentration varies with temperature and then with altitude. The hypothesis is then that climate change could modify the repartition of the two insects species.
This work is the subject of a news in IRD: Actualité scientifique n°496