Evaluation of the extent and level of awareness on safe use of herbicides by Tea Growers in Bomet County, Kenya

Abstract

Herbicides are pesticides used to kill weeds. Herbicides play a major role in crop protection and control of vector borne diseases in all agricultural sectors. They are chemically active compounds designed in the most part to kill targeted organisms, but unfortunately, herbicides are dangerous when they are not used properly or as recommended in crops and the environment. Weeds are unwanted plant since they compete with crop plants for sunlight, water and soil nutrients and hosts pests and diseases which can attack the crop. This study was carried to establish the extent and level of awareness on safe use of herbicides by tea growers of Kapkoros and Tirgaga tea factories in Bomet County, Kenya. The specific objectives were to determine the frequency of herbicide usage, the level of awareness on proper usage and handling of herbicides among tea growers and to determine the socioeconomic aspects of herbicide usage on household tea production. A Pre tested questionnaire was used to collect primary data from 363 respondents in all the six tea growing zones. Secondary data was collected from all the health centers in the study area and analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistic. Most of the tea growers xiii64.869; p >0.05, df=362