Background: Although Kenya has a relatively high number of registered biopesticide products, little is known about biopesticide use by smallholders. This paper documents farmers' current use and perception of chemical pesticides and biopesticides, their willingness to pay for biopesticides, and the ...

Opuntia stricta (Haw.) Haw (Cactaceae) is invasive in Laikipia County, Kenya, impacting negatively on biodiversity and livelihoods. To control this invasive plant the biocontrol agent Dactylopius opuntiae (Cockerell) (Hemiptera; Dactylopiidae) 'stricta' biotype was released in 2014. A preliminary...

Following reports of an invasive snail causing crop damage in the expansive Mwea irrigation scheme in Kenya, samples of snails and associated egg masses were collected and sent to CABI laboratories in the UK for molecular identification. DNA barcoding analyses using the cytochrome oxidase subunit I ...

The recently introduced tomato leafminer, Tuta absoluta, has become the most important pest constraint to tomato production in Africa. Spreading at an average 800 km/year, it is now present in 41 African countries. The socio-economic impacts of Tuta absoluta were assessed through a household survey ...