Utilizing integrated pest management in tomato farms: testing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

• Gholamhossein Abdollahzadeh ¹
• Bahereh Gonabadi ²
• Mohammad Mahboobi ³
• Mohammad Sharif sharifzadeh ³

¹ Department Of Agricultural Extension and Education,, Faculty of Agricultural Management,, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources.

² Dept of Agricultural Extension and Education, Faculty of Agricultural Management, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources

³ Department of Agricultural Extension and Education, Gorgan University of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources, Gorgan, Iran

Abstract

Keywords

• Pest management
• pest control
• behavior theory
• Heliothis spp
• Golestan province

Main Subjects

• Agricultural Economics, Extension and Education, Development, , ....

Extended Abstract

Introduction and Objectives

Integrated pest management (IPM) is often promoted as a viable alternative to over-reliance on chemical pesticides. Integrated pest management uses a combination of biological, agronomic, physical and chemical methods to reduce the pest population. Pest management through an integrated pest management approach should be done by creating a suitable combination of control measures that are cost-effective and safe for both the farmer and the consumer and at the same time ecologically sustainable. It is necessary to investigate and identify the causes that influence farmers' decision to accept integrated pest management methods. Due to the fact that in products such as tomatoes that are consumed raw and directly, non-chemical pest control is of particular importance in order to protect the environment and avoid the side effects of using chemical pesticides. Therefore, production with less consumption of pesticides in this type of products is more necessary. Despite the fact that chemical control of pests is still more common in tomato cultivation, but in recent years, due to the occurrence of resistance to insecticides in different regions and in order to reduce the number of spraying times and apply integrated management, especially with Many efforts have been made to use biological control. In this regard, many measures have been taken in Golestan province (including educational-extension courses, and helping to obtain parasitizing agents) to promote the integrated management of pests in tomato fields, but the adoption process has not progressed as expected. Is. Therefore, there is a need to know the factors influencing the acceptance of these methods among farmers using different behavioral models. This study aimed to investigate, the use of IPM methods in tomato fields by testing the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT).

Methods

Materials and Methods: The survey research method was used. The target population includes all 990 of tomato farmers in Golestan province. The samples were selected by random sampling method from 6 counties and 29 villages, and the information was collected through 280 questionnaires. The validity of the questionnaire was evaluated and confirmed based on the opinion of experts and its reliability was calculated by Cronbach's alpha.

Results

The results showed that the most important methods of IPM to reduce Heliothis spp. damage in tomato fields are feeding the plant with calcium fertilizers, collecting and eliminating contaminated parts of the crop, using resistant cultivars, releasing natural enemies of pests such as Bracon and Trichogramma, regulate the use of pesticides simultaneously with the outbreak of the pest and widespread spraying. The results of the compare mean test showed that farmers with traditional cultivation use the IPM methods more than farmers with mechanized cultivation. Also, farmers without a second crop have used more IPM methods compared to the group with multiple crops per years. Finnaly, farmers with integrated lands compare to farmers with fragmented land have used more IMP methods. The results of linear regression showed that the variables of effort expectancy (negative impact), social influence, performance expectancy and facilitation conditions have a greater role in predicting the dependent variable of the use of IPM methods, respectively.

Discussion

The positive effect of UTAUT constructs indicates its capability and validity for application in the development of pro-environmental technologies in the agricultural sector. Therefore, future extension interventions need to consider the constructs of this theory, such as performance expectancy, effort expectancy, social influence, and facilitation conditions, in order to increase the application of IPM methods by farmers.

Especially the facilitating conditions, which are the provision of technical and promotional services and timely delivery of parasitizing agents during pest outbreaks, should be taken into consideration in planning of developming IPM. In this regard, it is very important to facilitate access to educational and technical instructions for all kinds of integrated combat methods in bollworm pest control. It is necessary to hold specialized programs and workshops to teach how to use IPM tactics in pest control process throughout the cropping season, and most importantly, farmers should be encouraged to participate in these classes. This matter is of double importance because the experts of agricultural jihad and educational and extension classes were among the most important sources of information used by farmers in this regard. Considering the negative effect of the effort expectation structure, it is necessary to improve the technical and operational knowledge of farmers in the application of IPM methods in these classes, workshops and courses. In particular, it is very important to know the time of pest outbreak and the start of the fight plan, and to determine the weather conditions and the time to release natural enemies.