Integrated survey of crop diseases and pest management practices in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region, Morocco

Abstract

Background: To promote natural alternatives that could help reduce excessive pesticide use, an ethnobotanical survey was conducted to better understand and document the traditional uses of plant extracts for managing phytopathogenic diseases among farmers in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region.

Methods: A total of 150 farmers were interviewed from five rural communes in the Beni Mellal-Khenifra region about their knowledge and use of plant extract for crop protection and their pesticide-use practices. The quantitative data were analysed using appropriate statistical tests. A correspondence analysis (CA) was performed to determine the relationships between respondents’ treatment practices for crop pests and diseases and the studied parameters.

Results: The survey revealed that 90.67% of the farmers used pesticides to control phytosanitary problems. These products included 61.11% insecticides, 33.33% herbicides, and 5.55% fungicides. Moreover, 2% of the farmers relied exclusively on plant extracts, mainly from Urtica dioica L., Capsicum annuum L., and Allium sativum L., to manage diseases, particularly those affecting citrus crops. These extracts were used alone, in combination with other plant extracts, or together with chemical pesticides, with farmers reporting that the combined use improved treatment effectiveness. Farmers also reported a reduction in disease symptoms following the use of plant-based extracts.

Conclusions: The survey highlights the predominance of chemical pesticide use in the region, while revealing a limited adoption of plant-based pest control methods. Nevertheless, the use of plant-based extracts may contribute to more sustainable crop protection strategies in the future. However, their use as natural complementary alternatives for sustainable pest management requires further investigation.

Keywords: Ethnobotanical survey, plant extracts, disease symptoms, Beni Mellal-Khenifra region.