A study was conducted in Muswishi area, Zambia, with the objective of assessing indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) and relating this knowledge to integrated pest management (IPM) in maize production. The methods used included surveys, participatory rural appraisal (PRA), transect walks and semi-structured interviews (SSI). It was found that ITK does exist among some Muswishi smallholder farmers. Eighty-nine percent of respondent farmers never used any chemical pesticides. However, 22% used natural products to manage insect pests. The most widely used natural plant products were Swartzia madascariensis Desv, Tephrosia vogelli Hook.f, Euphorbia tirucalli L, wood ash and cow dung. Farmer's own assessment indicated that the integration of ITK into IPM technology led to increased maize yields (> 37.5%). This study demonstrated the continuing need for integrating ITK into IPM technology. Such an approach could ensure household food security and enhance sustainable livelihoods of rural smallholder farmers.

Surveys of the cereal stemborers and their natural enemies in Zambia were initiated in 1997. The surveys verified the presence of three stemborer species on maize, sorghum and pearl millet. These were the maize stalk borer, Busseola fusca Fuller (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), the spotted stemborer, Chilo partellus (Swinhoe) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) and the African pink borer, Sesamia calamistis Hampson (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Occasionally, the sugarcane borer, Eldana saccharina Walker (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) was also recovered especially around areas near the sugarcane plantation at Mazabuka, Southern province. Chilo partellus was the predominant stemborer in region I (areas with less than 600 mm of rainfall per annum). Three ‘hot spot’ areas, namely Luangwa, Buleya Malima and Kalobolelwa, were identified based on the abundance of Ch. partellus. The exotic parasitoid, Cotesia flavipes Cameron (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) was released in the three areas for the control of Ch. partellus. However, post-release surveys in these areas have not revealed any recoveries of Co. flavipes. Three indigenous natural enemies, namely Cotesia sp., Dentichasmias sp. and Dolichogenidea sp. emerged from the field-collected larvae.

The defoliating beetle Mesoplatys ochroptera Stål (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) has become a serious pest of the tropical legume Sesbania sesban (L.) Merrill in agroforestry systems in eastern and southern African countries. In this study, 32 accessions of Sesbania spp. collected from eastern and southern Africa were screened for resistance to M. ochroptera at Msekera, Zambia. Two mechanisms of resistance—antixenosis and antibiosis—were indicated in the different accessions. Accessions of Sesbania bispinosa, S. leptocarpa and S. macrantha were found to be more preferred by the insect compared to S. sesban and S. rostrata accessions. Preference of accessions was negatively correlated with leaf-hair density and positively correlated with the number of leaves per seedling and plant height. Under the conditions of eastern Zambia, some accessions of S. sesban from Kenya, Malawi and Ethiopia were found to be comparable to the Zambian accessions in survival, growth and biomass production. Four accessions of S. sesban—Kakamega (ex Kibwezi) and Kisii 2 from Kenya, Zwai 090 from Ethiopia and Rumphi from Malawi—appeared to compensate well for M. ochroptera damage.

The red locust, Nomadacris septemfasciata (Serville) is one of the major plague locust species of serious potential threat to agriculture in Zambia. Two of its eight outbreak areas, Mweru wa Ntipa plains and the Kafue Flats, are found in Zambia. The Kafue Flats have now become more important because of high levels of locust activity, occasionally forming swarms. Locust control in Zambia has been mandated to the International Red Locust Control Organisation for Central and Southern Africa (IRLCO-CSA), a regional cooperative effort of 8 member countries. Regional cooperation for locust control has proved practical and economical for Zambia.

The charged and partially discharged Electrodyn was evaluated at various swath rows of cotton. The results of field trials suggest that under a low pest pressure, a wider swath up to two or even more rows is possible, with the current version of Electrodyn sprayer, without any significant effect on the yield of seed cotton. Similar yields of seed cotton were also obtained with both charged and partially discharged Electrodyn.

The insecticide application techniques on cotton were compared in a series of trials. The new techniques compared well with knapsack sprayers and can play an important role in the control of Heliothis and other insect pests of cotton in Zambia. The ‘Electrodyn’ knapsack and ULV sprayers gave similar yields and pest control with cypermethrin at 30 g a.i./ha. A new pyrethroid lambda cyhalothrin (12 g a.i./ha) gave similar yields to cypermethrin (30 g a.i./ha) irrespective of the spraying techniques (Electrodyn, knapsack and ULV). The new application techniques have more potential for small-scale cotton farmers in developing countries as they receive limited training on the dilution of insecticides with water and calibration of knapsack sprayers.