Department of Agriculture, Horticulture and Engineering Sciences, Scotland's Rural College, Edinburgh, UK.
Centre for Agricultural Strategy, School of Agriculture, Policy and Development, University of Reading, Reading, UK.
Pest Manag Sci. 2021 Sep;77(9):4148-4158. doi: 10.1002/ps.6452. Epub 2021 May 15.
Arable crops in temperate climatic regions such as the UK and Ireland are subject to a multitude of pests (weeds, diseases and vertebrate/invertebrate pests) that can negatively impact productivity if not properly managed. Integrated pest management (IPM) is widely promoted as a sustainable approach to pest management, yet there are few recent studies assessing adoption levels and factors influencing this in arable cropping systems in the UK and Ireland. This study used an extensive farmer survey to address both these issues.
Adoption levels of various IPM practices varied across the sample depending on a range of factors relating to both farm and farmer characteristics. Positive relationships were observed between IPM adoption and farmed area, and familiarity with IPM. Choice of pest control information sources was also found to be influential on farmer familiarity with IPM, with those who were proactive in seeking information from impartial sources being more engaged and reporting higher levels of adoption.
Policies that encourage farmers to greater levels of engagement with their pest management issues and more proactive information seeking, such as through advisory professionals, more experienced peers through crop walks, open days and discussion groups should be strongly encouraged.
在英国和爱尔兰等温带气候地区，耕地作物会受到多种害虫（杂草、疾病和脊椎动物/无脊椎动物害虫）的影响，如果管理不善，这些害虫会对生产力产生负面影响。综合虫害管理（IPM）被广泛推广为一种可持续的虫害管理方法，但在英国和爱尔兰，很少有研究评估其在耕地作物系统中的采用水平和影响因素。本研究使用了一项广泛的农民调查来解决这两个问题。
根据与农场和农民特征有关的一系列因素，各种 IPM 实践的采用水平在样本中有所不同。观察到 IPM 采用与耕种面积和对 IPM 的熟悉程度之间存在正相关关系。还发现，害虫防治信息来源的选择也会影响农民对 IPM 的熟悉程度，那些积极主动地从公正的信息来源获取信息的人更投入，报告的采用率也更高。
应强烈鼓励鼓励农民更多地参与其病虫害管理问题，并更积极主动地寻求信息的政策，例如通过咨询专业人员、通过作物巡视、开放日和讨论组与更有经验的同行交流等方式。
