Table 2 Practices and attitudes regarding pesticide use by the rice farmers (n = 182)
Parameters | n (%) |
|---|---|
Pesticide use | |
Insecticides | 154 (84.6) |
Herbicides | 115 (63.2) |
Fungicides | 13 (7.1) |
Acaricides | 12 (6.6) |
Agricultural tasks | |
Spraying pesticides | 63 (34.6) |
Mixing pesticides | 48 (26.4) |
Scattering seed | 96 (52.7) |
Harvesting | 155 (85.2) |
Frequency of pesticide use | |
1 time/month or less | 141 (77.5) |
1 time/week | 39 (21.4) |
2–3 times/week | 2 (1.1) |
Source of pesticide information | |
Neighbors | 139 (76.4) |
Television | 107 (58.8) |
Merchants | 62 (34.1) |
Radio | 56 (30.8) |
Poster | 43 (23.6) |
Brochure | 25 (13.7) |
Reasons for pesticide use | |
Facing problem of pests | 112 (61.5) |
Protecting against problem in advance | 101 (55.5) |
Need for good product appearance | 79 (43.4) |
Saving time, labor, and cost | 56 (30.8) |
Following neighbor’s practice | 40 (22) |
Fate of empty containers | |
Burying in ground | 96 (52.7) |
Throwing on garbage site | 53 (29.1) |
Selling | 25 (13.7) |
Burning | 20 (11) |
Re-using | 4 (2.2) |
Years in farm work (mean ± SD) | 34.7 ± 12.9 |
Area (acres) under rice cultivation (mean ± SD) | 3.0 ± 2.2 |