A study was conducted to analyze the perception and pesticides usage practices by the small tomato growers in Ramanagara district of Karnataka using the pretested questionnaire and field observations. Detailed Information was obtained from 129 tomato growers wherein the information related to extent and types of pesticides used, knowledge about pesticides and their effectiveness was collected. Most of the respondents (98.44%) were male and most commonly farmers use 25 pesticides in tomato ecosystem. The major source of information for the small growers about the use of pesticides was the local pesticides dealers (55%) followed by Krishi Vigyan Kendra (33.3%). A good number of farmers (55%) used pesticides upon noticing the pest or disease incidence in tomato as curative measure. A great majority of the farmers (87.59%) used knapsack sprayers to apply pesticides. However, it is astonishing to observe that 83.72% of the growers used no or partial personal protection measures to spray the chemicals. Over 48% of the farmers expressed that they did not consider the wind direction (pesticide drift) during spraying due to which 87% of the farmers reported symptoms of pesticides poisoning after spraying. Most of the farmers (88.37%) enter into their farms within 48 hours after spraying while many farmers (83.72%) did not follow commonly recommended guidelines for safe use of pesticides including using personal protection measures. The study revealed that the tomato growers in the district are suffering since they are highly exposed to pesticides due to inadequate knowledge about safe and judicious use of pesticides. Education is essential to reduce pesticides application and encourage farmers to adopt integrated pest and diseases management practices along with safe use of pesticides through capacity building programmes.
K e y w o r d sTomato growers,
The study was conducted in Bengaluru city of Karnataka, India to examine, explore and analyze the various dimensions of terrace gardening including the constraints faced by the terrace gardeners. The primary data was collected from 60 terrace garden practitioners of Bengaluru by personal interview method through a pre-tested interview schedule. The stakeholder mapping showed that all the stakeholders were passionate terrace gardeners and some of them were input agents and consultants. To grow and consume fruits and vegetables as a means of nutritional security was the first preference for the majority of the respondents for adopting terrace gardening and practitioners had devoted 85.7 per cent of their terrace space for terrace gardening activity. Majority of the respondents (66.67 per cent) gained information from the terrace garden enthusiasts by meeting them regularly on monthly basis. The major constraints expressed by the terrace gardeners were pest & disease infestation followed by non-insect pests such as rodents, monkeys and cats. There is a need for concerted efforts by the State Department of Horticulture and related Institutions to solve the problems by providing technical consultancy and ensure supply and services to the needy.
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