The Attitude of Vegetable Growers towards Mitigating the Adverse Effects of Agricultural Chemicals

Abstract

India is the world's second-largest producer of vegetables next to China, but the annual loss of fresh vegetables on an average is about 12 per cent in India which is significantly affecting the agricultural economy. Thus, crop protection is very much essential to prevent losses and feed the growing population. Chemical crop protection in India began in the year 1947-48 with the introduction of Benzene Hexa Chloride (BHC). Today India is the fourth largest producer of pesticide in the world. But over the years pesticides are being used more indiscriminately and unscientifically which has led to a negative impact on humans, soil, water and the environment as a whole. Due to the unscientific pesticide application, the pests gradually develop resistance to the poison that normally kills them. Even with all these ill-effects, it is inevitable to use pesticides to grow the crops and therefore they can be called as a necessary evil. The present study was conducted in Kolar district of Karnataka state in India during 2018-19 to ascertain the attitude of vegetable growers towards mitigating the ill-effects of agricultural chemicals. The data was collected from 120 vegetable growers using a pretested interview schedule. It was found that more than half of the vegetable growers (52.50%) had highly favourable attitude towards mitigating the ill-effects of agricultural chemicals; sixty per cent of the vegetable growers were undecided whether to spray pesticides in the opposite direction of the wind or along the direction of the wind. The study facilitates the agriculture and horticulture departments to train farmers enabling them to safely use, handle and store the agricultural chemicals.