The studies were conducted at the department of Botany and Horticulture Maseno University, Kenya to investigate the ethnobotanical and chemical characterization of selected medicinal plants growing in South Nandi District in the year 2004 and 2005. Subsequently, propagation studies were carried out on the identified endangered medicinal plants. Local communities who use medicinal plants were interviewed. Ethnobotanical data on families, plant species, botanical name, local name, part (s) used, popular ethnobotanical medicinal use, forms of preparation and applications of the herbal remedies were collected. Plants were collected, pressed, dried, preserved, mounted and identified through available literature and voucher specimens at the University of Nairobi and National Museum Laboratories. From the surveys carried out it was observed that the endangered plants were Asystasia schimperi, Carissa edulis, Toddalia asiatica .These were propagated using stem cuttings subjected to different concentrations of auxin in a polypropagator in a completely randomized design experiment. It was found that as auxin concentration increased from 100 ppm to 500 ppm, there was increase in rooting and growth in the decreasing order of Asystasia schimperi, Carissa edulis and T. asiastica. The treated cuttings were planted in polythene pots, which were placed in a non-mist propagator. The duration of the experiment on propagation was four months and the data taken were number of rooted plants, plant height, and number of leaves. The data on propagation was subjected to analysis of variance and Least Significant Difference (LSD = P< 0.05) separation of means. The results showed that hormone concentration, species and date of sampling significantly (P< 0.05) affected the number of leaves, plant height, and number of rooted cuttings. A. schimperi had the best rooting and subsequent growth followed by Carissa edulis and lastly Toddalia asiastica. It is concluded that Asystasia schimperi and C. edulis can be easily propagated by stem cuttings hence introduced to the farmers of South Nandi District.

Keywords: Tomato, seedborne bacteria, bacterial spot, bacterial canker, bacterial speck, mulch