ABSTRACT

Sorghum is a cereal grain plant that is widely grown in tropical and subtropical regions around the world. It is a member of the grass family and is closely related to other cereal crops such as wheat,
barley, and corn. Despite the importance of sorghum as a food and cash crop, there is limited knowledge of the susceptibility of different sorghum varieties to pests within BueaThe aim of the
research was to evaluate the degree of damage caused by some pest s namely aphids, bird, stem borers and fall armyworm on some varieties of sorghum. Sorghum is believed to have originated
in Africa, specifically in the northeastern regions. The earliest evidence of sorghum cultivation dates back to around 2000 BC in the Nile Valley. The research was carried out in at the University
of Buea school farm data was collected by the use of a data collection sheath were by data on degrees of damage of the various pest was recorded twice. The experimental design used in this
study was that of the RCBD. The result was later on analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) software version 20 and graphs were made using Microsoft Excel 2016.
Information was sorted, categorized and cleaned in line with the study variables. Result from this study showed that aphids has the highest degree of damage on the various insect pest with the most
affect varieties being Maljeri and Musquary species. Maljeri also showed highest susceptibility to stem borers attack with a mean damage of 2.85 on 5. The different varieties showed good resistant
to fall army worm thou some varieties revealed significant susceptibility to fall army worm notably Maljeri and Sofra 1 varieties. Results from this study shows that the most susceptible variety to
insect pest was Maljeri as it showed high susceptibility to all three insect pests. Birds have the most damaging effect has they destroyed yield. The results suggest that controlling bird damage
and aphid infestations should be a top priority for farmers to minimize crop losses and improve yields.
Keyword: Buea, sorghum Varieties, Maljeri variety, insect pest, Birds, insect infestation.

CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of study

Since the beginning of time Agriculture has always been one of the key criteria for economic
growth. Accompanied with population increase it became of high importance to increase
agricultural productivity. Today, we leave in a nation where by the consumption of particular crops
are on constant demand, some of such crops are cereals, beans and much more. Unfortunately,
even with this high demand this produce remains some of the most imported produce of the nation.
This unconscious poison has never been more felt as in recent times as materials and raw products
are at constant price increase notable that of flour produced from cereals such as sorghum.
Sorghum is considered an ancient grain. The earliest known records of sorghum were found at an
archaeological dig in northeastern Africa near the Egyptian-Sudanese border and date back to 8000
B.C. Sorghum grows well even in arid climates, which is probably why it spread across Africa.
From there, sorghum made its way to India and China before landing in Australia. The first known
record of sorghum in the United States comes from Benjamin Franklin. He wrote about sorghum
being used to make brooms back in 1757. Since then, sorghum has planted roots in many states
and countries. Sorghum is generally planted with maize planters thou at times some modifications
are done on planting distances. An example of a sorghum based product is flour which will all
know to be an important part of the pastry industries and other food production companies. For
years now it has been difficult to understand why the production of sorghum within Cameroon
remains extremely low, especially in towns such as Buea. This low agricultural productivity of
sorghum might be as a result of the low productivity knowledge and other climatic hindrance. It is also important to note that adequate knowledge on the various pest and pathogen to which sorghum
is susceptible to is of crucial importance as adequate knowledge on these parameters will aid
improve on the productivity levels of sorghum within the town of Buea and might be expand its
productivity into the entire Nation.
1.2 Problem statement
Sorghum is a cereal as any other cereal such as maize. This implies that, as maize large tons of
sorghum should also be produced in Cameroon but However, sorghum production is often
challenged by pest infestations, which can cause significant yield losses and reduce the economic
viability of farming activities. Despite the importance of sorghum as a food and cash crop, there
is limited knowledge of the susceptibility of different sorghum varieties to pests within Buea found
in the southwest region of Cameroon Therefore, the objective of this study is to investigate the
successibility of some varieties of Sorghum plant to pest in the Monomodal Rainforest of
Cameroon, with a focus on identifying the key pests to which sorghum is susceptible and attempt
to list out some of the most susceptibly varieties to particular pests.
1.5 Research Objectives
1.5.1General objectives
 To investigate the susceptibility of some varieties of sorghum to pest in Buea monomodal
rainforest of Cameroon
1.5.2 Specific objective
 Evaluate the degree of damage caused by some insect pest such as Aphids, Stem borers
and Fall armyworm on some varieties of sorghum.
 Assess the degree of damage of birds on some sorghum Varieties

1.3 Hypothesis
All varieties of sorghum grown within the southwest region of Buea will present equal levels of
susceptibility to pest infestation
Different varieties of sorghum will have different susceptibility to the various pests infestation
found within the Southwest region of Cameroon precisely Buea.
1.4 Research questions
 What the different types of insect pest associated with some varieties of sorghum?
 To what extent does different pest such as birds damage sorghum plant?