Weed control practices and awareness of herbicide resistance among cereal farmers of northern Greece

Elisavet Toubou,Christos A Damalas,Spyridon D Koutroubas,Vassiliki Vindena

doi:10.1017/wet.2020.79

Elisavet Toubou, Christos A Damalas + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1017/wet.2020.79

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Journal: Weed Technology	Publication Date: Jul 20, 2020
Citations: 2	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: Democritus University of Thrace

Abstract

AbstractKnowledge of weed control practices and farmers’ awareness of herbicide resistance could be a basis for improving weed management programs with respect to herbicide resistance, but research on this topic is limited. This study reports current weed control practices and levels of awareness of herbicide resistance among cereal farmers of northern Greece. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 250 cereal farmers of Evros district, based on a structured questionnaire. Most farmers (82.8%) used herbicides in cereal production, with one application per growing season. Farmers appeared divided with respect to using the same herbicide each year; the majority of the farmers (90.8%) applied crop rotation. Almost half of the farmers (47.2%) did not know what herbicide resistance is, but most farmers (75.1%) felt herbicide resistance would be a problem for them. According to their answers on nine knowledge questions about herbicide resistance, 66.8% of the farmers had good knowledge, and 33.2% had poor knowledge. Almost seven in 10 farmers (69.8%) did not consider herbicide resistance when purchasing an herbicide for use, and only 40.4% were willing to change common weed control practices to prevent herbicide resistance. Awareness of herbicide resistance did not differ by sex; poor awareness levels increased with advanced age, low education levels, and small farm size. Farmers who used chemical weed control had higher awareness levels of herbicide resistance than farmers who never used herbicides. Farmers who were keeping records of herbicide applications, those who observed low efficacy of herbicides in their field, and those who applied crop rotation had high awareness levels of herbicide resistance, whereas farmers who used the same herbicide each year had poor awareness. Findings shed light on inter-relationships between farmers’ awareness of herbicide resistance and current weed control practices that could be useful for targeted extension education.

Highlights

Herbicide resistance has increased rapidly over the past decades, greatly increasing costs of weed management, especially with the lack of new herbicides (Norsworthy et al 2012)
Switching to a different herbicide that is still active on the resistant weed population is often the immediate response, but integration of appropriate tactics based on adequate knowledge of the weed biology and of the herbicide mode of action is required for long-lasting management of herbicide resistance
Herbicide resistance is affected by several factors, with human decision-making interacting with all preventive efforts (Shaw 2016)

Summary

Introduction

Herbicide resistance has increased rapidly over the past decades, greatly increasing costs of weed management, especially with the lack of new herbicides (Norsworthy et al 2012). The majority of the farmers stated that they applied crop rotation and nonchemical weed control practices in their fields (Table 2).

Results

Conclusion