Current practice of pesticide use at Tan Thanh village, Thoi Lai district, Can Tho city

Abstract

The study was conducted to interview farmers in Tan Thanh commune, Thoi Lai district, Can Tho city on how to manage pesticide bottles after using. The findings showed that the majority of farmer did not have appropriate measures to handle the used pesticide bottles . The used bottles are commonly discarded in the fields. The personal safety during pesticide spraying has not been paid adequate attention. Only simple facial mask is usually used. Up to 77.8% of pesicides classified in Group II and III toxicity have been used by the farmers. Some banned pesticides such as 2.4D and paraquat are still being used in the study area. Farmers sprayed pesticide 5.5 times per rice crop with the dose of 2 - 3 times higher than the recommended dose posing potential risks for health and environment. It is necessary to further train farmers to use pesticide wisely and manage used pesticide bottle properly to minimize the environmental impact of pesticides.