Item Details

Title: Farmers' knowledge, perceptions and management of the gall-forming wasp, Leptocybe invasa (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae), on Eucalyptus species in Uganda

Date Published: 2007
Author/s: PHILIP NYEKO, ESTON K. MUTITU, & ROGER K. DAY
Data publication:
Funding Agency : The African Forestry Research Network (AFORNET)
Copyright/patents/trade marks: Taylor & Francis
Journal Publisher: International Journal of Pest Management
Affiliation: Department of Forest Biology and Ecosystems Management, Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, 'Kenya Forestry
Research Institute (KEFRI), Nairobi, Kenya, and 3CAB International Africa Regional Centre, Nairobi, Kenya
Keywords: Eucalyptus, indigenous knowledge, Leptocybe invasa, pest management, plantation forestry

Abstract:

Farmers growing Eucalyptus species in Uganda were interviewed using a pm-tested questionnaire to investigate their
knowledge, perceptions and management of the Eucalyptus gall-forming wasp, Lepwrybe invasa Fisher & LaSalle, with the
aim of developing integrated management programme for the pest. Farmers were aware of, and concerned about, the gall
problem on Eucalyptus, but the vast majority of them did not know the cause. Most farmers did not attempt to control the
infestation because they did not know of suitable control methods and/or the cause of the problem. Farmers' control
decisions were not influenced by their experience in cultivating Eucalyptus or their education level. Only 20% of 59 farmers
interviewed had received advice on L. invasa, suggesting poor flow of information on tree pests to farmers. Nearly all farmers
interviewed still wanted to plant Eucalyptus, and they saw the trees as a source of several products and services. Problems
relating to the increasing emergence of alien insect pests in tropical forests, and challenges and strategies for effective
management of forest pests in developing countries are discussed.