Shea trees in agroforestry parklands in Northern Côte d’Ivoire are the main target of the Loranthaceae, parasite vascular plants that constitute a constraint for the availability of the shea genetic resources. The purpose of this study was toreveal the level of infestation of shea trees by Loranthaceae species and to identify some factors influencing the attacks in the parklands. The survey was conducted in October, 2019 in two shea parklands located at Ouangolodougou and Ferkéssédougou. The roving method was used to inventory infested shea trees on an area of 2 ha delimited in the visited parklands. The results revealed that the two visited parks are infested by two species of Loranthaceae that areTapinanthus bangwensis (Engl. and Krause) Danser and Agelanthus dodoneifolius (DC.) Polh et Wiens and infesting rates vary from 59.66-65.51%. A. dodoneifolius was the most frequent and abundant. The cartography of the infestation revealed an aggregate distribution of infested (Distribution Index or I varying from 1.10-2.54) and not infested (I varying from 1.70-1.90) suggesting a short-distance dissemination of the Loranthaceae seeds by the birds. These results demonstrate that the shea parks are threatened with disappearance seen the high level of the plant parasitic infestation. It is appeared essential that research elaborates strategies to struggle against the Loranthaceae to secure shea exploitation in Côte d’Ivoire.
