Abstract:
Pest control is mostly dependent on the use of synthetic pesticides in Jaffna,
However the pesticides are used inappropriately in intensive cultivation of
crops. Due to the increase of pesticide hazards, an attempt was made to
understand the present status of the pesticide usage in the fields in eight
selected Divisional Secretariats of Jaffna district. The pesticide usage was
assessed through questionnaires from randomly selected farmers. Our study
indicates that, 42.9% of farmers were adhered to recommended levels
whereas 9% used extremely high doses and 18% used slightly higher doses
than recommended levels. 29.9% of farmers used levels lower than the
recommended levels. It was recorded that 85.6% of farmers mixed different
pesticides without recommendation before spraying. Agro chemicals used by
the farmers can be categorized based on the labels; yellow label (30.3%),
blue label (5.9%) and green label (60.3%). The chemicals which are not
recommended for pests or diseases used can be categorized based on their
toxicity as represented by the labels; yellow label (73.1%), blue label
(14.1%) and green label (12.5%). Agro chemicals used experience by the
farmers for more than 15 years was 31.4% and less than 5 years was 36.4%.
Percentage of farmers not wearing protective cloths like mask, gloves and
not taking bath after spray was 89.1%, 79.7% and 5.1%, respectively. The
results of this study revealed that farmers are abruptly using the pesticides to
control the pests. Therefore, it is recommended to provide awareness on the
hazardous effects of pesticides among the farming community.
