Vol. 11, Special Issue 6 (2022)

Author(s):
Jhansi Hima Varsha Valluri, Cherukuri Sreenivasa Rao, Chiranjeevi Ch., Srinivasa Rao V and Kishore Varma P

Abstract:
The present study was designed among 45 paddy growers to study their knowledge and practices related to pesticide use in five Mandals of Nagarjuna Sagar Jawahar Canal area in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh during rabi 2020-21 where data was collected through fortnightly field visits and personal interactions on pesticide use and handling. The study revealed that a great majority of the farmers were unaware about several aspects viz., recommended pesticides against pests (93.33%), classification of insecticides based on toxicity (95.56%), pesticide residues in food (88.89%) and rejection of food materials for export due to presence of pesticide residues (100%). Most of the farmers got the advisories on pesticide recommendation from retail pesticide shop dealers (82.22%) where only 6.67 per cent contacted government agricultural personnel. Majority of the farmers used pesticides and their mixtures (95.56%) for higher yields and cost effectiveness respectively. With regard to handling of pesticides, about 71.11 per cent used bottle cap for measurement and about 37.78 per cent of the farmers were found to use stick for mixing the pesticidal spray solution, whereas, 33.33 per cent were found mixing with bare hand. During spraying operation none of the farmers had the practice of smoking and most of them didn’t eat or drink (95.56%). About 75.56 per cent of farmers didn’t follow any safety measure during pesticide application, whereas, only 24.44% used mask to cover face while spraying. The common symptoms like skin rash (41.18%), difficulty in breathing (29.41%) and dizziness (11.76%) were being observed by the spay men. Many of the farmers were unaware of the first aid practices to be followed in case of accidental poisoning (91.11%).