Identifying the drivers and constraints to adoption of IPM amongst arable farmers in the UK and Ireland

Creissen, H. E., Jones, P. J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3464-5424, Tranter, R. B. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0702-6505, Girling, R. D. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8816-8075, Jess, S., Burnett, F. J., Gaffney, M., Thorne, F. S. and Kildea, S. (2021) Identifying the drivers and constraints to adoption of IPM amongst arable farmers in the UK and Ireland. Pest Management Science, 77 (9). pp. 4148-4158. ISSN 1526-4998 doi: 10.1002/ps.6452

Abstract/Summary

BACKGROUND: Arable crops in temperate climatic regions such as the UK and Ireland are subject to 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. RESULTS: 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. CONCLUSION: Policies which 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.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/97749
Item Type	Article
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Sustainable Land Management > Centre for Agri-environmental Research (CAER) Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Agri-Food Economics & Marketing
Publisher	Wiley
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