Ethnobotanical survey of pesticidal plants used in South Uganda: Case study of Masaka district

Abstract

Use of synthetic pesticides in developing countries is not only limited by their being expensive but also the small (uneconomic) fields whose limited production costs cannot offset costs of agricultural implements like agro-chemicals. Subsistence farmers, therefore, have no choice but to use local methods of controlling pests, one of which is the use of traditional and of late introduced pesticidal plants’ extracts. In this study, whose main objective was to record all pesticidal plants used in Southern Uganda, Masaka district, it was established that thirty four species belonging to eighteen families are currently used in traditional plant production. Most useful species were Azadirachta indica and Tagetes minuta while the most frequently cited families were Meliaceae and Euphorbiaceae. It was noted that of the plant species recorded, some plants like A. indica, Melia azedarach, and T. minuta are already scientifically established pesticidal plants whereas others like Euphorbia tirucalli, Bidens pilosa, Vernonia amygdalina may be known for other uses but not for this purpose and hence the need for their efficacy evaluation. Some important pesticidal plants like Abrus precatorius, Euphorbia candelabrum and Phoenix reclinata were reportedly becoming increasingly rare and would need conservation. The need to carry out such surveys in order to obtain inventories was observed and recording this knowledge before it disappears with the aging farmers was seen as urgent.