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Indigenous knowledge of
rural communities in Malawi on socio-economic use,
propagation, biology, biodiversity and ecology of Uapaca
kirkiana Muell. Arg
Y. M. Ntupanyama1,4*, W. F. Mwase1,
B. Stedje2, M. B. Kwapata3, J. M.
Bokosi3 and A. K. Hvoslef-Eide1
1Norwergian
University of Life Sciences (UMB), Department of Plant and
Environmental Sciences, P. O. Box 5003, N-1432, Åas, Norway.
2University
of Oslo, Natural History Museum, Botanical Garden, P.O. Box
1172, Blindern, NO-0318 Oslo, Norway.
3Department
of Forestry and Horticulture, Bunda College of Agriculture,
P.O. Box 219, Lilongwe, Malawi.
4Environmental
Affairs Department, Private Bag 394, Lilongwe 3, Malawi.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
yntupanyama@yahoo.co.uk or
yanira.ntupanyama@umb.no.
Accepted
17 June, 2008 |
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Uapaca kirkiana Muell Arg. is one of the most popular indigenous fruit trees
in the Miombo woodlands of southern Africa. An investigation
into existing indigenous knowledge and socio- economic use
of this fruit tree was conducted in Malawi. The survey
revealed that U. kirkiana fruits contribute
considerably to livelihood as a food supplement and for
income generation among local communities. However, U.
kirkiana trees are not widely cultivated due to lack of
improved planting materials and difficulties in
establishment outside their natural habitats. The results
from the survey indicate that fruits are the main non-timber
products that contribute to demand for domestication and the
attributes preferred by the rural communities for
improvement are mainly related to fruit taste and yield.
Poor management and anthropogenic activities have resulted
in the destruction of forest reserves and the local people
do not have maximum stewardship of U. kirkiana trees
in the forest reserve. The indigenous knowledge on U.
kirkiana trees provides a valuable basis for
domestication, propagation and improvement of fruit and tree
attributes, and management issues on both co-managed and
government forest reserve.
Key
words:
Euphorbiaceae, domestication, forest reserve, Miombo. |
