Abstract

The potential of lime fruit juice from Citrus aurantifolia plant as an effective water sanitizer against an African leech called Hemiclepsis quardrata and blood preference were investigated. H. quardrata were exposed to lime fruit juice at concentrations of 0.00, 0.94, 2.07 and 4.55mL /L under laboratory conditions for 48 hours and 96 hours, respectively. The LC50 values of 1.55mL /L and 0.67mL /L at 48-hr and 96-hr, respectively, were obtained through graphic and probit analyses. Blood from three organisms (Clarias gariepinus, Hetero clarias and man) was used during the feeding trial in three days; using 2.0mL of blood per source per test tube to establish choice of diet by the african leech. Each treatment was replicated thrice to accommodate a total sample of nine (9). The investigation was repeated thrice. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics and regression. A decreasing order of blood consumption (g) ranked preference for the blood of man (1.34), Clarias gariepinus (0.95), and Hetero clarias (0.76) in three (3) days was observed. Lime fruit juice is effective in controlling the population of African leech.

Keywords: Leeches; Amphibians; Invertebrate; Unwanted organisms; Lime fruit juice