CHANGING APPLE PRODUCERS' BEHAVIOUR IN PEST CONTROL THROUGH PHEROMONE TRAPS: THE CASE OF BALKIRI VILLAGE IN EGIRDIR DISTRICT OF ISPARTA, TURKEY

摘要

The aim of the study was to address effects of pheromone traps using on changing apple producers' behaviour in pest control and determine their attitudes to biotechnical control. The study was carried out in the village of Balkiri in Egirdir district in Isparta, Turkey in 2016, based on data collected through face-to-face interviews with 100 apple producers corresponding to 65% of the total apple producers in the village that has been one of the pilot areas with a state support scheme for pheromone traps for codling moth control in apple production since 2010. Fifty farmers received state support in 2014-2015 in the village and all of these were involved in the research study, in addition to 18 farmers who used pheromone traps on their own initiative and 32 farmers who used only chemical pest control methods. The most important factor which affected farmers' decisions on pest control was its effects on apple yield, followed by easy implementation and affordable price. The majority of those who used pheromone traps but did not benefit from the state support schemes stated that they did not use it because was not worth the bother of applying for the support and dealing with the bureaucracy. However, all producers were satisfied with the results of the pheromone traps, as their input cost was low and they increased the quality of the product. Farmers stated the reason for using pheromones trap as being success in codling moth control (81%) and economic benefit (19%), and they wanted to continue using them in the future while the most important reason of using pheromones traps was its positive effects on apple yield (66%) those who did not use pheromone traps stated that they did not use it because it is not worth the bother themselves (81%) for following reasons: lack of time to deal with it, small farm ownership, chemical control is enough or pheromone traps cannot be efficient. The most striking result of the study is that there was a significant decrease in the use of chemicals by farmers even though only three years had passed. Not only the farmers who were involved in the interviews but most farmers in fruit production tend to over apply pesticides. The results show that most of the apple producers sprayed between five and eight times, and some of them even more than eight times. However, the use of pheromone traps contributed to a significant decrease in the number of sprayings. While only one farmer sprayed one time before using pheromone traps, the number of farmers in this first group increased to 37 farmers, corresponding to more than half of the total number of farmers. While there were 15 farmers in the third group who sprayed more than eight times before using pheromones, no farmer left this group after pheromone trap use. Considering that overuse and misuse of agricultural inputs and specifically of pesticides is very common high in the region, this is not a final achievement but a good start in changing farmers' behaviour.