Pesticide use knowledge, attitude and perception influence residue occurrence in french bean (phaseolus vulgaris) pods in Murang’a County, Kenya

Abstract

Some Kenyan horticultural products are rejected in export markets due to excess Maximum Residue Levels. Farmers need assistance on pesticide use to meet stringent quality crop, freedom from pests and pesticide residues standards. This study assessed farmers’ knowledge, attitude and practice that may influence pesticide residue occurrence on their crop and health. A cross-sectional survey was done among French bean farmers in Murang’a County. Stratified random sampling was done based on use of synthetics or biopesticides for organic production. Questionnaires were administered to 100 French bean farmers via face-to-face interview in Kikuyu language by trained enumerators. Pesticide use knowledge, attitudes, and practices were scored and dichotomized and Chi-square-tested at P=0.05. The pesticide use practices were significantly different across the demographics such as education level and years of practice. The knowledge on pesticide use was very high but there was ignorance of protective clothing use and proper pesticide container disposal, which strongly correlated with the health ailments such as headaches at R=0.6. The biopesticides from common plant extracts (Trichoderma, Azandchatra, Mexican marigold) were reported to have better protection against frost but they were slightly lower in crop pest protection than insecticides such as Aster, Cyrux and Extrim. The overall attitude towards biopesticide use was 76%, but most farmers were hindered by lack of knowledge on preparation. Most farmers require the knowledge on mixing, adoption of safer, less expensive and locally available biopesticides, which will catalyze the move towards organic production for good human and environmental health.