<p>Pesticides are designed to control or eliminate pests such as insects, rodents, weeds,<br />
bacteria, and fungi. They are used at a global scale for agricultural produce. Although<br />
pesticides play a significant role in increasing food production and eliminating diseases,<br />
exposure to pesticides may be harmful to non-target organisms. As a result concern over<br />
safety and resistance to pesticides has increased and there is pressure to reduce use and<br />
search for more environmentally and toxicologically safe and efficacious pesticides. Most<br />
pesticides currently in use are synthetic / therefore an alternative to synthetic pesticides is<br />
the use of naturally occurring products/ botanicals with pesticidal properties.</p>
<p>Two plants indigenous to South African with pesticidal properties were chosen for this<br />
study. Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis (D. rhinocerotis) and Galenia africana (G. africana)<br />
have potential antifungal properties thus, may have potential use on agricultural produce<br />
as fungicides. Galenia africana and D. rhinocerotis extracts inhibit growth of B. cinerea<br />
(a fungal pathogen) at concentrations greater than 31.25 mg/ml and 125mg/ml<br />
respectively. A major consideration in approving pesticides for use is whether they pose<br />
an unreasonable risk to humans and to the environment. Toxicity studies are required to<br />
determine the safety of the plant extracts.</p>
<p>The purpose of this study was to evaluate potential toxicity of ethanol extracts of D.<br />
rhinocerotis and G. africana, which is important when designing practices to reduce or<br />
eliminate excess exposure to them. Natural plant products with pesticidal properties could<br />
provide an alternative to synthetic pesticides and may thus effectively reduce resistance<br />
levels.<br />
<br />
<br />
  / </p>
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UNWC/oai:UWC_ETD:http%3A%2F%2Fetd.uwc.ac.za%2Findex.php%3Fmodule%3Detd%26action%3Dviewtitle%26id%3Dgen8Srv25Nme4_7861_1328620487 |
| Date | January 2010 |
| Creators | Shoko, Yeukai Phoebe |
| Source Sets | Univ. of Western Cape |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis and dissertation |
| Format | |
| Coverage | ZA |
| Rights | Copyright: University of the Western Cape |
Page generated in 0.0022 seconds