Profiles of California farmers by degree of IPM use as indicated by self-descriptions in a phone survey

Increasing numbers of growers in the USA report that they use integrated pe st management (IPM) as their method of controlling agricultural pests. This study measured IPM adoption based on growers' account of practices used to control a specific pest and self-descriptions of their general approach to pest management. Responses from telephone interviews with 195 California v egetable and fruit crop growers were used to develop five categories of int ensity of IPM use. The majority of growers practiced at least a minimum lev el of IPM for key insect pests on their crops. Growers with relatively smal l farms and very large farms were the most intensive users of IPM, There wa s no difference between the intensity of IPM used by growers of different c rops, even though the availability or economic feasibility of reduced risk control options for the key pests differed among the crops. Grower response s tended to elevate estimates of IPM use level through self-descriptions wh en compared with their account of practices used to control specific pests on these crops. Higher intensity of IPM was used by growers whose pest cont rol advisors (PCAs) were not affiliated with agricultural chemical distribu tors than for those who were. Further, PCAs not affiliated with agricultura l chemical distributors influenced growers to change their practices to a g reater degree than did those affiliated with agricultural chemical distribu tors or employed in-house by growers. The combined use of growers' control methods used for a specific pest and self-description of their approach to pest management proved an effective tool for estimating the degree of adopt ion of IPM among selected growers in California. (C) 2001 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.