Assessment of farmer practices used in the control of fall-army worm in Kamuli district, Eastern Uganda

Abstract

Recent reports have indicated an outbreak of an invasive fall army worm which has had negative impacts on smallholder farmers. This study (i) determined the occurrence of the fall army worm in kamuli district ;( ii) identified the practices used in the control of the fall army worm, and (iii) determined the factors that influence the effects of the fall army on the farm in kamuli district. Across sectional survey was carried out in randomly selected respondents. A participatory entomological survey was also conducted to collect data on impact of fall army worn on crops. Data was analyzed using a statistical package for the social sciences (Spss).Descriptive statistics was used to analyze the occurrence of the fall army worm and practices used in the control of the fall army worm. Linear regression was used to analyze the factors influencing the effects of the fall army worm on the farm. Results have shown that all respondents (100%) heard and experienced the fall army worm with 80% of the gardens being attacked by the worm. On the attacked gardens, maize (100%) was highly affected on all the gardens with 73.75% damage intensity. Results showed that most farmers used pesticides (77.7%), planting early at the onset of the rains (70.4%) as the most effective ways to control fall army worm. Results also indicated that marital status and main occupation significantly reduced the effect of fall army worm on the farm. It can therefore be concluded that fall army worm occurred in the entire study area, damage on crops was high and there is a reliance on chemical means for controlling the pest. It is recommended that farmers need to be trained in proper pesticide selection and application.