Cultural practices and use of pesticides on tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum </i>L.) market gardeners in Loumbila and Ouahigouya (Burkina Faso)

Abstract

The misuse of pesticides and their overdose on vegetables has an impact on people's health. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the cultivation and phytosanitary practices of tomato growers at the Loumbila and Ouahigouya vegetable growing sites. A survey on cultural and phytosanitary practices was carried out among 25 tomato producers at these two market gardening sites. Results show that 16% of producers use dams and 80% traditional wells as a source of water supply. The inputs used are mainly organic (cow's mouth, household waste) and chemical (NPK, urea) fertilizer. The frequency of use of chemical fertilizer is once a week at the Loumbila site and only once a month in the Ouahigouya site. All the producers surveyed used pesticides and 67% do not respect the deadlines for indicated on the packaging labels. A total of 16 pesticides (insecticides, fungicides) are used during tomato production. Cypermethrin and Lambda-cyhalothrin from the pyrethroid family and acetamiprid from the Neonicotinoid family were the most used by producers. Most of these pesticides are not intended for vegetable crops but rather for cotton crops. The pesticides used may remain in the tomato in significant amounts and pose a threat to consumers.