Farmers’ Knowledge and Perception of the Pest Status and Management Options for Termites in Buikwe District, Central Uganda

Abstract

Termites are known to be serious pests, particularly in tropical and sub-tropical countries, causing damage to crops, forestry and structures/buildings. To design and implement effective and environmentally- friendly termite management strategies, there is a need to consider farmers’ knowledge and experience in defining and setting priorities. We therefore conducted a survey in the coffee agro-ecology of Buikwe district, central Uganda to determine farmers’ knowledge on the damage caused and control options for termites. Farmers were aware of the damaged caused by the termites, with 85.8% of them mentioning damage to crops in the field as the most important. However, 43.4% of them were of the view that the proportion of the whole coffee garden damaged by termites was generally low (1-25%). More than half of the farmers mentioned that they first observed termites in their gardens in the last 15 years and maize was the most (97.1%) damaged crop. In addition to crops, farmers mentioned that termites were also attacking mulching material, particularly maize stover (47.2%) and buildings (66%). Most farmers mentioned that they observed highest termite damage in the dry season (30.2%), at hill top (35.8%) and in reddish soils (55.7%). Also, >70% of the farmers mentioned that termite damage was generally decreasing in their coffee gardens, mainly due to destruction of termite mounds and bushes (39.6%). Furthermore, 83% of the farmers mentioned that they had attempted to manage termites, with most of them (>70%) acknowledging using chemicals. In addition to chemicals, farmers also mentioned that they were using cultural-based options such as destroying termite nests or mounds (68.7%), queen removal (34.9%) and weeding (30.2%), among others to control termites. Furthermore, in attempting to manage the termites, farmers mentioned that they faced several challenges, with most (36.8%) of them claiming that termites are impossible to control. In conclusion therefore, farmers had knowledge on the pest status of termites, conditions and seasons that support high termite damage as well as control options and the constraints they face in managing the termites. However, there is need to develop effective, cheap and environmentally-friendly integrated pest management (IPM) packages for termites but also, to conduct biological studies to relate termite damage to crop yield loss and determine the economic injury level (EIL), the basis for decision-making in most IPM programs.