Cattle tick control in Africa: potential of ethnoveterinary plants.

Author(s):  
Brighton M. Mvumi

Abstract Cattle are a livelihood asset to smallholder farmers in Africa yet remain threatened by the effects of ticks and tick-borne diseases during production because they cause morbidity and premature death. The use of indigenous plants in tick control is a worldwide practice spanning thousands of years. Changes in the agricultural and socio-cultural landscape over time have, however, led to neglect of indigenous pesticidal plants in favour of synthetic products. The benefits of synthetic acaricides are well-recognized, but emerging observation indicates that they cannot solve all livestock health problems across production systems, farmer circumstances and agro-ecologies. Concerns associated with commercial acaricides have revived research interest in alternative or complementary remedies. Past research has focused on documenting ethnoveterinary practices, scientific validation of the practices and optimization of these practices. Here, we review the challenges of synthetic acaricides and progress made in ethnoveterinary plant research and development in Africa. The review highlights challenges of access, affordability and availability of commercial acaricides to resource-poor communities; synthetic acaricide resistance development; disposal of obsolete acaricides and environmental pollution; reduced water supply and implications on conventional use of acaricide-treated dipping facilities; and plant bioprospecting and downstream development of products in Africa. This information contributes towards shaping the ethnoveterinary plant research agenda and policy, and investment interventions in Africa.

2021 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Achille S. Ouedraogo ◽  
Olivier M. Zannou ◽  
Abel S. Biguezoton ◽  
Kouassi Yao Patrick ◽  
Adrien M. G. Belem ◽  
...  

AbstractSince 2011, period of the livestock invasion by the cattle tick Rhipicephalus microplus in Burkina Faso (BF), tick-control problems were exacerbated. Based on farmer’s reports, most commonly used commercial acaricides were found to be ineffective in Western South part of the country. To investigate the occurrence and extent of such acaricidal ineffectiveness, we performed the standardized larval packet test (LPT) with commercial deltamethrin (vectocid) and cypermethrin (cypertop), on two cattle tick species, the native Amblyomma variegatum and the invasive R. microplus. The resistance ratios (RR) were computed with susceptible Hounde strain of Rhipicephalus geigyi as reference. The R. microplus population showed resistance to the two acaricides tested with the highest lethal concentration (LC) values, and different resistance ratios higher than 4 (deltamethrin: RR50 = 28.18 and RR90 = 32.41; cypermethrin: RR50 = 8.79 and RR90 = 23.15). In the contrary, A. variegatum population was found to be highly susceptible to acaricides tested with low lethal concentrations and resistance ratio values (deltamethrin: RR50 = 0.5 and RR90 = 0.48; cypermethrin: RR50 = 0.68 and RR90 = 0.79). These data demonstrate high synthetic pyrethroid resistance in R. microplus strain, leading to conclude that the acaricide ineffectiveness in tick populations control remains a concern in BF.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 269 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Kalyebi ◽  
Sarina Macfadyen ◽  
Andrew Hulthen ◽  
Patrick Ocitti ◽  
Frances Jacomb ◽  
...  

Cassava (Manihot esculenta Crantz), an important commercial and food security crop in East and Central Africa, continues to be adversely affected by the whitefly Bemisia tabaci. In Uganda, changes in smallholder farming landscapes due to crop rotations can impact pest populations but how these changes affect pest outbreak risk is unknown. We investigated how seasonal changes in land-use have affected B. tabaci population dynamics and its parasitoids. We used a large-scale field experiment to standardize the focal field in terms of cassava age and cultivar, then measured how Bemisia populations responded to surrounding land-use change. Bemisia tabaci Sub-Saharan Africa 1 (SSA1) was identified using molecular diagnostics as the most prevalent species and the same species was also found on surrounding soybean, groundnut, and sesame crops. We found that an increase in the area of cassava in the 3–7-month age range in the landscape resulted in an increase in the abundance of the B. tabaci SSA1 on cassava. There was a negative relationship between the extent of non-crop vegetation in the landscape and parasitism of nymphs suggesting that these parasitoids do not rely on resources in the non-crop patches. The highest abundance of B. tabaci SSA1 nymphs in cassava fields occurred at times when landscapes had large areas of weeds, low to moderate areas of maize, and low areas of banana. Our results can guide the development of land-use strategies that smallholder farmers can employ to manage these pests.


2005 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-103 ◽  
Author(s):  
John B. Githiori ◽  
Johan Höglund ◽  
Peter J. Waller

AbstractEthnomedicine is an integral part of traditional medical practices in many countries of the developing world. A large proportion of the population uses this form of treatment for primary health care and for the treatment of ailments in their livestock. Livestock is a major asset for resource-poor smallholder farmers and pastoralists throughout the world and internal parasites are recognized by these communities as having an impact on livestock health. Parasitic infections are among those infections that traditional healers confidently treat and against which an enormous variety of remedies exist. Many of these are based on the use of plant preparations. Although various methods have been used for the validation of traditional phytomedical preparations, there is a lack of standardization of these procedures. The present study is aimed at providing an overview of ethnoveterinary deworming preparations, the various methods that have been used in their validation and the future prospects for their use against helminth parasites of ruminant livestock in developing countries, with an emphasis on nematode parasites. Recommendations are made on the procedures that should be followed to conduct in vivo and in vitro assays. Fostering better interaction between traditional healers and scientists is advocated to prevent harmful overexploitation, both of local knowledge and of plant species that may have effects against nematode parasites.


Author(s):  
Mohamed Nasser Baco

Previous studies suggested that maize is set to become a cash crop while ensuring food security better than any other crop. However, climate change has become one of the key production constraints that are now hampering and threatening the sustainability of maize production systems. We conducted a study to better understand changes here defined as adaptations made by smallholder farmers to ensure food security and improve income through maize production in a climate change context. Our results show that maize farmers in northern Benin mainly rely on traditional seeds. Drought as abiotic stress is perceived by farmers in many agro-ecological zones as a disruptive factor for crop production, including maize. When drought is associated with pest damages, both the quantity (i.e. yield) and the quality (i.e. attributes) of products/harvests are negatively affected. The adverse effects of drought continue to reduce production in different agro-ecological zones of the country, because of the lack of widespread adoption of tolerant varieties. The study suggests actions towards the production of drought-tolerant maize seeds, a promotion of seed companies, the organization of actors and value chains. Apart from climate change, the promotion of value chains is also emerging as one of the important aspects to take into account to sustain maize production in Benin.


Author(s):  
Stephen G. Mackenzie ◽  
◽  
Ilias Kyriazakis ◽  

The focus of this chapter is on the environmental impact consequences of endemic livestock health challenges that lead to deterioration in animal health, and on the potential impacts arising from their mitigations. The first part of the chapter concentrates on the potential of animal health to affect the environmental impact of livestock systems. Subsequently, it reviews the literature to date which has quantified the impact of health challenges for the environmental impacts of livestock systems. The potential of successful health interventions to mitigate negative environmental impacts represents a point of synergy between concerns around environmental sustainability and animal welfare, both of which represent 'hot topics' in the discourse surrounding the livestock industry and its sustainability. The challenges associated with modelling health interventions and their potential to mitigate environmental impacts constitute the last section in the chapter.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 1934578X1601101
Author(s):  
Nicolas Lebouvier ◽  
Thomas Hue ◽  
Joseph Brophy ◽  
Edouard Hnawia ◽  
Mohammed Nour

Essential oil from leaves of Nemuaron vieillardii (Baill.) Baill., a shrub used in the kanak pharmacopeia, was analyzed by gas chromatography and combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The main compounds identified were safrole (49.7%), linalool (8.0%), δ-cadinene (5.1%), caryophyllene oxide (4%) and α-copaene (2.4%). This chemical composition is consistent with leaf oils of the Atherospermataceae family and demonstrates the proximity of the two genera Nemuaron and Atherosperma as regards to their essential oil compositions. The modified Larval Packet Test (LPT) was used to assess acaricidal effect of N. vieillardii essential oil on larvae of the cattle tick Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus and LC50 was then calculated to 14.67%. High content of safrole in this oil which is suspected of being a human carcinogen, poses the problem of the use of this oil in a perspective of development of alternative tick control strategy and in the traditional medicinal consumption of Nemuaron vieillardii.


1993 ◽  
Vol 16 ◽  
pp. 47-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. N. Jayasuriya

AbstractRuminant production systems in developing countries could be classified into three categories: the extensive systems, systems incorporating arable cropping and systems integrated with tree cropping. Systems have evolved in response to the agro-ecological environment, the availability and type of land, nature of cropping patterns, frequency and intensity of cropping, area of uncultivated land and animal species and animal numbers.Smallholder livestock farmers in most developing countries appear to have adopted a mixed system that incorporates the traditional extensive system and the system that combines arable cropping with livestock. Both in Africa and in Asia, livestock production is an important component of traditional agriculture, complementing arable cropping. Livestock utilize existing food resources such as communal grazing lands which are marginal for arable cropping, crop residues and agro-industrial by-products. Besides supplying meat and milk, organic manure and draft power, livestock are an investment and an insurance against crop failure.Crop residues and agro-industrial by-products are a major source of nutrients for ruminant livestock in developing countries, especially during periods of fodder shortage. Despite the large research effort on upgrading crop residues in recent years, there has been little improvement in the utilization of crop residues in developing countries. Reasons for this are many but include, the absence of detailed production patterns of crop residues within countries, including when and where they are produced, the difficulties of transporting and storing crop residues, inappropriate technology and the near absence of extension services.Both in the African and Asian continents, smallholder farmers who rear livestock for supplementary income are rather reluctant to change their traditional practices, when new technologies call for extra labour, time and capital, since the methods may be too demanding in relation to the benefit produced. The more likely application of any new technology will be with larger-scale operations where benefits are clearer and sufficiently large to warrant the extra efforts.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justine S. Gibson ◽  
Honey Wai ◽  
Shwe Sin May Lwin Oo ◽  
Ei Moh Moh Hmwe ◽  
Soe Soe Wai ◽  
...  

Abstract Antimicrobials are used to support livestock health and productivity, but might pose a risk for the development of antimicrobial resistance; in particular, when multiple livestock species are raised together in production systems. On integrated chicken-fish farms, chickens are raised over fish ponds and poultry faeces is excreted into the ponds. We investigated antimicrobial usage and the antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli cultured from poultry faeces on 301 integrated farms in Ayeyarwady Delta of Myanmar. Antimicrobials were used by 92.4% of farmers for chickens, but they were not applied to fish. The most common antimicrobials used were Octamix (amoxicillin and colistin sulfate) on 28.4%, enrofloxacin on 21.0% and amoxicillin on 16% of farms. Overall, 83.1% (152/183) of the E. coli were resistant to at least one antimicrobial. The highest level of resistance was to amoxicillin (54.6%), tetracycline (39.9%), sulfamethoxazole/trimethoprim (35.5%) and enrofloxacin (34.4%). Multidrug resistance was identified in 42.4% of isolates. In general, we found similar levels of antimicrobial resistance in non-users of antimicrobials as in users of antimicrobials for more commonly applied antimicrobials. Overall, antimicrobial resistance was lower in chickens on these integrated farms in Myanmar, compared to poultry farms in other countries of South East and East Asia.


2019 ◽  
Vol 59 (8) ◽  
pp. 1401 ◽  
Author(s):  
Heather M. Burrow ◽  
Ben J. Mans ◽  
Fernando F. Cardoso ◽  
Michael A. Birkett ◽  
Andrew C. Kotze ◽  
...  

About 80% of the world’s cattle are affected by ticks and tick-borne diseases, both of which cause significant production losses. Cattle host resistance to ticks is the most important factor affecting the economics of tick control, but it is largely neglected in tick-control programs due to technical difficulties and costs associated with identifying individual-animal variation in resistance. The present paper reviews the scientific literature to identify factors affecting resistance of cattle to ticks and the biological mechanisms of host tick resistance, to develop alternative phenotype(s) for tick resistance. If new cost-effective phenotype(s) can be developed and validated, then tick resistance of cattle could be genetically improved using genomic selection, and incorporated into breeding objectives to simultaneously improve cattle productive attributes and tick resistance. The phenotype(s) could also be used to improve tick control by using cattle management. On the basis of the present review, it is recommended that three possible phenotypes (haemolytic analysis; measures of skin hypersensitivity reactions; simplified artificial tick infestations) be further developed to determine their practical feasibility for consistently, cost-effectively and reliably measuring cattle tick resistance in thousands of individual animals in commercial and smallholder farmer herds in tropical and subtropical areas globally. During evaluation of these potential new phenotypes, additional measurements should be included to determine the possibility of developing a volatile-based resistance phenotype, to simultaneously improve cattle resistance to both ticks and biting flies. Because the current measurements of volatile chemistry do not satisfy the requirements of a simple, cost-effective phenotype for use in commercial cattle herds, consideration should also be given to inclusion of potentially simpler measures to enable indirect genetic selection for volatile-based resistance to ticks.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document