Browsing by Autor "J. Herbas"

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Ethnopathology: local knowledge of plant health problems in Bangladesh, Uganda and Bolivia
(Wiley, 2009) Jeffery W. Bentley; E. Boa; P. Kelly; M. Harun‐Ar‐Rashid; A. K. M. Rahman; F. Kabeere; J. Herbas
All peoples have names for and knowledge of plants, animals and other things in the real world. An ethnopathology (or, more strictly, ‘ethnophytopathology’) – study in Bangladesh, Uganda and Bolivia revealed that smallholder farmers label plant health problems with meaningful names. A local name for a plant health problem typically has two kinds of meaning. The first is a literal translation of the name, often a kind of shorthand description of the symptom. The second and most important kind of meaning is the denotative meaning (the thing in the real world which the name actually refers to). Local words for plant health problems often label the symptom rather than the actual disease. This is logical, since smallholders cannot observe microscopic causal organisms. Local concepts for plant health problems do not necessarily classify the natural world in exactly the same way that scientists do, yet local terms for plant health problems are still meaningful. It is not clear if folk classifications of plant health problems are phylogenetic classifications (e.g. ‘mammals’ vs. ‘fish’) or ecological (e.g. ‘seafood’ vs. ‘meat and poultry’). Cross‐culturally, local knowledge recognizes that plants are alive, and that they may be ill or healthy, perhaps in analogy with human health.
Improving Productivity of Traditional Andean Small Farmers by Bio-Rational Soil Management: I. The Potato Case
(2016) Javier Franco; Gladys Main; O. Navia; Noel Ortuño; J. Herbas
The use of chemical pesticides in agriculture demands high investments; its in discriminated and inadequate application to obtain immediate crop response has caused considerable damage to the environment and human health, either due to a direct effect or indirect contamination of farmer fields and water sources by highly toxic products. On the other hand, as a result of soil fertility losses, farmers move to new areas for farming, causing a complex migration phenomena and devastation of natural forests. In an effort to find new alternatives for the management of crop pests compatible with the environment and agro-ecologically friendly, some technologies recently developed have been offered to small Andean potato farmers. Among these, the recycling of organic residues and the management of natural soil microorganisms which are important alternatives to reduce the importation and use of toxic agro-chemicals as well as to preserve and recuperate soil fertility and thus reach a sustainable potato production by Andean farmers. This will not only guarantee food security, but will also have favorable impact on the yield and quality of potato and other crops.Accepted for publication: December 28, 2011