Tick control practices among Small Scale Farmers in Isoka Districts, Zambia Change Catalog Display
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Date
2015-11-11
Authors
Muyobela, Jackson
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Abstract
The traditional cattle sector in Isoka District has been experiencing an increase in the number of tick borne disease fatalities, despite the use of acaricides. Therefore, the objectives of the study were: to document the major acaricides in use, dosage and their method of application; to determine whether tick species in Isoka district are resistant to amitraz and cypermethrin; and to determine and compare the acaricidal properties of Bobgunnia madagascariensis Desv. and Tephrosia vogelii L. against ticks.
The prevailing chemical tick control practices in the study area were documented by administering a semi-structured questionnaire to 80 randomly selected resource poor small scale livestock farmers from four agricultural camps (Longwe, Kantenshya, Kapililonga and Ndeke) in Isoka District. Larval packet test bioassay experiments were used to determine the resistance status of Rhipicephalus (Boophilus) microplus (Canestrini), Rhipicephalus appendiculatus Neuman and Amblyomma variegatum (Fabricius) ticks against amitraz and cypermethrin acaricides. Free contact and topical application bioassay experiments were used to demonstrate and compare the acaricidal activity of the plant extracts of T. vogelii and B. madagascariensis against A. variegatum ticks.
Only 50% of respondents practiced chemical tick control with amitraz (27%) and cypermethrin (23%) being the acaricides in use, applied with knapsack sprayers. Farmers were able to follow the recommended dosage of 20 ml of acaricide to 10 litres of water for amitraz and 10 ml of acaricide to 10 litres of water for cypermethrin. On average, less than 2 litres of spray wash per animal was used which was considerably lower than the recommended delivery rate of 10 litres of spray wash per animal.
No significant susceptibility change to amitraz at 95% confidence level was observed in R. appendiculatus and A. variegatum against amitraz. However, a significant change in the susceptibility of R. (Bo.) microplus tested with amitraz was detected at 95% confidence. The test population had a lower susceptibility (LD50 0.012 ml/l; LD90 0.018 ml/l) than the reference population (LD50 0.010 ml/l; LD90 0.012 ml/l). The results indicated that resistance to amitraz was developing in R. (Bo.) microplus. For cypermethrin, no significant susceptibility change at 95% confidence was observed in any of the three species and thus resistance to this chemical was not observed.
Methanol extracts of the cortex (stem and branch) and leaf material of T. vogelii and methanol fruit extracts of B. madagascariensis produced 100% mortality of A. variegatum ticks in 24hr. The acaricidal activity of methanol leaf extracts of T. vogelii persisted for up to 8 days while that of fruit extracts of B. madagascariensis persisted for only 6 days. The toxicity of T. vogelii and B. madagascariensis extracts were found to be significantly different at 95% confidence level, with B. madagascariensis extracts (LD50 0.031w/v) being more toxic than T. vogelii extracts (LD50 0.585w/v).
It can be concluded that R. (Bo.) microplus is developing resistance to amitraz in Isoka District. Amitraz must therefore be used with caution, and with strict adherence to the recommended delivery rate. The study has also shown that plant extracts of B. madagascariensis and T. vogelii extracts have excellent acaricidal activity against ticks and can be considered as alternatives for tick control. Further research is however required in order to establish the required rate of application of B. madagascariensis and T. vogelii plant extracts, using water as an extraction solvent, for tick control.
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Keywords
Ticks , Ticks Control , Cattle Parasites