A Study on The Level of Farmer Knowledge, Attitude and Practices on The Litopenaeus Vannamei Disease in Pond Culture

Abstract

Litopenaeus Vannamei is a high-value commodity shrimp species in the aquaculture sector, especially Asia. Unfortunately, disease attack is a problem that emerges from shrimp aquaculture to gain high profit. Among the common disease that usually infects L. Vannamei are white spot disease (WSD) and Fusarium bacteria which causes black gill disease. This problem arises from farmers' lack of knowledge about shrimp disease, low management attitude and poor aquaculture management practices. Therefore, this research objective is to investigate a farmer's level of knowledge, attitude, and practices on the Litopenaeus Vannamei shrimp disease. The research method used in this study is a quantitative method (questionnaire survey) using a google form and the questionnaire was distributed online. The respondents were chosen from the L. Vannamei farmers (50 respondents) in Kota Bharu, Kelantan. The survey was open for one month between 15th November and 15th December 2021. The data was analysed using IBM SPPS software version 24.0 to obtain the frequency, percentage and descriptive analysis to analyse the level of knowledge, attitude and practices of L. Vannamei farmers on the shrimp disease in pond culture. This study showed that the level of knowledge, attitude, and practices of L. Vannamei farmers on the shrimp disease in pond culture is high, as can be seen by the good attitude in L. Vannamei management and having good aquaculture management practices. In conclusion, the high level of knowledge, attitude and practices of L. Vannamei farmers helps to motivate farmers to apply good management on shrimp cultivation to prevent the disease and increase the production of high-quality seeds.