Prevalence and identification of hard ticks in Salikneta Farm, San Jose Del Monte City, Bulacan

The study aimed to determine the prevalence of tick infestation and abundance as well as to identify tick species infesting cattle. In the process, it sought to create a dichotomous key on the tick species isolated. Ticks were handpicked from the thighs, flanks and tail region of the cattle fenced in the hutches and were preserved, counted and sorted based on their sex and developmental stages. Results showed that only Boophilus microplus was the species among the 710 (males= 144 females= 566) ticks collected from seven female cattle out of 29 total cattle population. Furthermore, the findings showed that there is 100% prevalence of ticks in all of the seven cattle is with tick abundance of 101.43. Upon close examination of male ventral plates, polymorphism was determined and each male morph representative was subjected to scanning electron microscopy. A total of 8 morphs were described and identified in 144 male ticks in which morph 1 is the most predominant morph, making up 48 ticks (33.33%) followed by morph 2 with 28 ticks (19.4%). On the other hand, morph 7 only consisted of 3 males (2.08%). The high infestation of ticks may affect cattle productivity hence effective tick control program should be implemented. Biological control of ticks would be an effective way of eradicating ticks without the harmful effects of chemical-based acaricide on animals and its environment. Proper management should also be practiced to regulate the spread of ticks within the area. RNA sequencing to determine if differences in the adanal and accessory plates exist at species level is highly recommended