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Abstract

To assess the phytosanitary practices of tomato producers in the West Region of Cameroon, a survey was carried out with 90 producers from 3 sub-divisions, Nde, Noun and Menoua. The survey aimed to evaluate the impacts of education level, phytosanitary practices, the chemicals used and their management on tomato yield and on the environment. The results showed that 98% of tomato growers are male, aged 30-40 years old. More than 50% producers reached the high school and 71% did not receive any training in pesticides use and handling. F1 hybrids (63%) are the main varieties cultivated. The main tomato diseases recorded were caused by fungi (42%), insects (39%) and nematodes (13%). Plants are destroyed by these agents at different growth stages: leaves (35%), fruits (29%) and stems (26%) are the most affected. The producers commonly use chemical pesticides, to control pest and diseases. Dithiocarbamates (47%) and Chloronitrile (18%) are the main fungicide families used while Avermectins (45%) and Pyréthrinoids (32%) are the main insecticide. The producers estimated that the protective effectiveness range from 25 to 100%. To optimize the effectiveness of the pesticides, they are applied several times, alternated and mixed with different active ingredients. The majority of these producers (95%) does not use the recommended personal protective equipment (PPE) and throw the packaging wastes at the treatment sites thereby causing environmental hazards. Based on our findings, the phytosanitary practices of tomato producers in the West region of Cameroon are worrying and potentially harmful for both human health and the environment. Urgent measures need to be taken to raise awareness on pesticides use and handling to tomato producers, not only to reduce their incidence on the environment and soil ecosystem, but also to increase tomato yield.