An explorative study on usage pattern of pesticides among tomato growing farmers in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh

Abstract

Tomato is the most important vegetable in the culinary tables of India. Tomato is cultivated widely across the regions. A study was conducted in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh to understand the pest incidence in tomato crop and how the farmers address this problem with application of pesticides. Pesticides on vegetables have a direct ill heath effect on consumers. A total of ninety tomato cultivating farmers were interviewed for the purpose in the district. Descriptive analysis, factor analysis and Garette ranking techniques were used for analyzing the collected information. The usage pattern examined included the nature and type of pesticide used, major pest occurrence, length of usage, seasons of usage, method of pesticide application, timing of application, dosage and source of information for purchase of pesticides. The factors influencing the preference of the farmers towards pesticides were analyzed through factor analysis and four important factors like promotional attributes, flexibility, innovativeness and product acceptance were identified.