Farmer Perceptions and Adoption of Integrated Pest Management in Cotton Production at District Umerkot

Abstract

Cotton is a major contributor to Pakistan’s agricultural economy, yet production remains heavily constrained by insect pests and excessive pesticide use, which increases costs, destroys beneficial insects, accelerates pest resistance and threatens farmers’ health. Although Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is promoted as a sustainable alternative, evidence on the effectiveness of Farmer Field School (FFS) training in developing practical IPM skills remains limited. A cross-sectional survey of 74 cotton growers in Taluka Kunri, Umerkot, Sindh, compared 37 FFS-trained farmers with 37 untrained farmers using structured interviews on IPM awareness, adoption and knowledge of Economic Threshold Level (ETL) and Economic Injury Level (EIL). FFS was identified as the most trusted information source (mean score: 3.76–3.89/5). However, none of the farmers could correctly identify the recommended ETL or EIL for bollworm species, while adoption of threshold-based spraying and biological control methods, such as Trichogramma cards, remained extremely low. Independent t-tests showed no significant differences between trained and untrained farmers for most IPM awareness and adoption indicators (p > 0.05), indicating limited effectiveness of current FFS training in transferring critical decision-making skills. Major constraints included inadequate practical knowledge, limited availability of biological control inputs and the labour-intensive nature of pest scouting. The findings demonstrate that existing FFS curricula inadequately address the core principles of rational pest management. Strengthening IPM outcomes in Sindh requires practical ETL/EIL-based training, improved biological control supply systems and stronger post-training extension support.