Study on knowledge of pesticides among vegetable growers

Abstract

The present study on knowledge of pesticide among vegetable growers was carried out in Kadegaon and Khanapur blocks of Sangli district of Maharashtra with the objective to measure the ‘Study on knowledge of pesticides among vegetable growers’. From each block, two villages were selected and 40 vegetable growers were selected from each village. A total number of 160 respondents were selected and data was collected by personal interview method. An ex-post facto design of social research was used. The study assessed vegetable growers' knowledge of fungicides and insecticides for brinjal, chilli, and tomato crops using 12 parameters each. Findings revealed that majority of the vegetable growers had medium level of knowledge about pesticides. Overwhelming majority of the vegetable growers had knowledge about identification of diseases and pests, mentioning name of fungicide and insecticide, spraying dose, spraying interval and sticker used while application of pesticide. Vegetable growers had low knowledge about active ingredients and formulation of pesticide, bio pesticides and bio control agents whereas they had medium knowledge about toxicity level of pesticide, pre harvest interval.