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Biological control (BC) through the release of BC agents is regarded as a potential strategy for achieving sustainable pest control and provides a way to substantially reduce pesticide use without sacrificing crop yield. Despite all its potential, understanding attitude and intention to use BC still remains low, especially among smallholder farmers. This study explored the extent to which knowledge of the adverse effects of pesticides and two components of the Health Belief Model (i.e., belief in the efficacy of BC and perceived barriers to BC) are related to: (i) farmers' attitude towards BC as a pest control method and (ii) farmers' intention to use BC in the future as a pest management practice. A random sample of 381 citrus farmers from Sari County in Mazandaran Province of Iran was used. The majority of the farmers (71.1%) had a positive attitude towards BC, while 60.1% agreed that they would use BC in the future as a pest management practice. Farmers were not well aware of the adverse effects of pesticides used in citrus fields, such as pyriproxyfen, buprofezin, and chlorpyrifos. Knowledge of the adverse effects of pesticides was not significantly associated with either dependent variable (i.e., belief in the efficacy of BC and perceived barriers to BC). However, farmers who believed in the efficacy of BC as a pest management method were more likely (P < 0.01) to have a positive attitude towards BC, while those who perceived more barriers to BC use were less likely (P < 0.01) to have a positive attitude towards BC. Findings support that (i) the promotion of the BC effectiveness is a worthy goal for providers of extension services for the promotion of BC adoption and (ii) if the perceived barriers to the adoption of BC are overcome, the rate of BC use among farmers would increase. Overall, extension programs aiming only at increasing awareness and knowledge of pesticide impacts may not succeed in promoting BC adoption. Efforts should target farmers' views of BC, promoting farmers’ belief in the efficacy of BC and lessening perceived barriers to BC use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological control (BC) strategies have bolstered the ability and motivation of farmers to control various types of pests, but better understanding of farmers' behaviour for BC acceptance is still needed. This study attempted for the first time to implement an extended version of the technology acceptance model (TAM) that combined innovation diffusion theory (IDT), perceived self-efficacy, and facilitating conditions to investigate factors affecting farmers' acceptance and use of BC for the control of rice stem borer [ Chilo suppressalis (Walker)] in rice fields of Mazandaran province in northern Iran. The proposed model (widely known as TAM2) was empirically tested using data collected from a survey of 179 rice farmers. The TAM2 explained 78% of the variance in behavioural intention of farmers to use BC and 82% of the variance in actual use. With the TAM2, adoption and use of BC could be adequately predicted from farmers' intentions, which were affected by perceived self-efficacy, facilitating conditions, compatibility, and perceived usefulness as the original TAM suggests. Therefore, with the TAM2 we successfully extended the TAM (in terms of model fit) by including three external factors relevant to BC, namely, perceived self-efficacy, facilitating conditions, and compatibility as antecedents of behavioural intention to use. However, the predicted direct and indirect effects of perceived ease of use on farmers' behavioural intention were not supported. The TAM2 outperformed the original TAM in predicting farmer's intention to use BC in farm practices and consequently actual use. To increase acceptance of BC, agricultural authorities should take care of creating a favorable environment which will support and encourage the use of BC at the farm level. Providing facilitating conditions, such as extension services and training, can help farmers to increase their knowledge about BC. However, more emphasis should be given on compatibility and usefulness of this technology and less on the ease of use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biological control of pests can reduce unnecessary pesticide applications in crop production, but research on the adoption of this strategy and the post-adoption status over a long period is limited. In this study, we examined factors affecting adoption, non-adoption, and discontinuance of the use of biological control with Trichogramma spp. for the management of the Asiatic rice stem borer [ Chilo suppressalis (Walker)] in rice ( Oryza sativa L.) fields of Iran. Information was collected from 415 rice farmers of Golestan Province of northern Iran. A significant proportion of farmers did not adopt biological control, whereas most early adopters dropped it soon after adoption and turned back to the use of pesticides. Attributes of the biological control method and certain perceptions of farmers, such as compatibility of the technology (i.e., consistency with existing values, prior experiences, and needs of farmers), perceived self-efficacy about the method, facilitating conditions (i.e., technical support), perceived usefulness and ease of use of the technology were significant factors for the adoption. Additionally, farmers who perceived benefits of pesticide use, those who were more concerned about safe use of pesticides, those who produced high rice yields, and those who had high annual farm income were less likely to adopt biological control. On the other hand, the likelihood of rejection decreased with increased education level, perceived self-efficacy about the method, increased off-farm income, and information from plant protection staff. The likelihood of discontinuance decreased among farmers with large area under rice cultivation. Policies geared at promoting the biological control in rice fields of the study area should point out its usefulness and ease of use to farmers to guarantee continuous and long-term use after initial adoption. Local stakeholders should monitor the process of biological control adoption and support the initial stages of the process by providing technical support and effective incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting appropriate strategies for pest control has become an issue of major concern, but research on decision making regarding this issue is limited. An analytic hierarchy process (AHP) approach for selecting strategies for the management of rice stem borer [ Chilo suppressalis (Walker)] in paddy fields of Sari county of Mazandaran province in Iran was developed. Agricultural faculty members, experts of a local plant protection unit, local extension agents, and elite farmers in the study area participated in the project to determine the suitability of four common pest control methods (i.e., chemical control, cultural control, biological control, pheromone trapping) for rice stem borer management, based on 10 main criteria and 32 sub-criteria identified through pertinent literature and focus group discussions. All the examined alternatives of pest control were preferred to some extent for rice stem borer management. Control effectiveness, relative advantages, social usefulness, and technical support were the most important criteria for assessing strategies for rice stem borer management, followed by observability, ease of use, trialability, farmer's self-efficacy, compatibility, and farm characteristics. Overall, chemical control ranked first, being superior to the other three methods with respect to six main criteria of the model (relative advantages, trialability, observability, farmer's self-efficacy, farm characteristics, and control effectiveness). Biological control ranked second at the overall level, being superior to cultural control and pheromone trapping in the three remaining main criteria (i.e., technical support, compatibility, and social usefulness). Pheromone trapping ranked first only with respect to ease of use criteria. The proposed model constitutes a flexible tool for decision making in pest control with high applicability among policy makers in the government and local agricultural office and extension agents; it could greatly assist extension programs to effectively select strategies for rice stem borer management or similar pest problems in various agricultural sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While research on biological control of crop pests is quite popular, it seldom targets motivations of farmers for adopting this practice. A survey of 283 rice farmers was conducted in Mazandaran province of northern Iran to study farmers' motivations for biological control adoption as an alternative control method of Asiatic rice borer [ Chilo suppressalis (Walker)] and explain potential differences in motivations among different groups of farmers. Face to face interviews were used to address farmers' motivations based on a list of motivation statements found in previous studies and modified by extension officers and farmers who had adopted biological control in the study area. Factor analysis of a motivation list with 15 items revealed four main groups of factors explaining the adoption of biological control by rice farmers; these were ‘health maintenance’, ‘economic benefit’, ‘social acceptance’, and ‘environmental protection’. Men gave high scores to motivations related to ‘economic benefit’ and ‘social acceptance’, whereas women preferred mostly motivations related to ‘health maintenance’. Well-educated farmers (e.g., some college education) preferred motivations for ‘health maintenance’ more than farmers with lower education or no education at all. Participation in extension programs was associated with preference of non-economic motivations of biological control adoption, while membership in local associations (such as rural cooperatives or producers' groups) encouraged motivations related to ‘social acceptance’. Farmers who used family labor force in their fields or farmers who perceived pesticides as harmful substances showed strong motivations primarily for ‘health maintenance’ along with ‘environmental protection’. Small area of land under cultivation and low annual farm income were strongly linked with motivations for ‘economic benefit’. Besides economic motivations, policies for the promotion of biological control adoption should embrace a wide set of farmers' motivations when developing new and properly tailored extension programs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perceptions of the pros (beneficial effects) and cons (harmful effects) of pesticides influence patterns of pesticide acceptance and use among farmers in developing countries. However, perceptions about pesticide effects can vary greatly among farmers and thus continuous research is always useful for developing effective intervention initiatives. A survey of 331 randomly selected rice farmers was carried out in Mazandaran province of northern Iran to study perceptions of the pros and cons of pesticides and to assess how these perceptions influence the adoption of biological control (BC) among farmers in the area. Most farmers were well aware of both pesticide effects, with slightly lower perception levels about pros than cons. The high risk of pesticides to human health was perceived as the most severe negative effect, whereas the boost of crop productivity with pesticides was the most frequent perceived beneficial effect. Although implementation of BC in the study area was quite low, most farmers expressed confidence in BC and were in favor of its adoption. High levels of education and a tendency for own consumption of produce were associated with high awareness of both pesticide effects among farmers. High income, high rice grain yields, and intense use of pesticides were associated with positive perceptions about pesticides, whereas high farming experience was associated with negative perceptions about pesticides. Perceptions of the pros and cons of pesticides could predict support or rejection of BC among farmers. Well-educated and experienced farmers, farmers with frequent extension contacts and high share of family labor force in farming activities, as well as farmers who recognized that pesticide use has cons were more likely to support BC in their farms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been retracted: please see Elsevier Policy on Article Withdrawal (https://www.elsevier.com/about/our-business/policies/article-withdrawal). This article has been retracted at the request of the Chair Editor. After a thorough investigation, the Editor has concluded that the acceptance of this article was partly based upon the positive advice of one illegitimate reviewer report. Although purportedly a real reviewer account, the Editor has concluded that this was not of an appropriate, independent reviewer. This manipulation of the peer-review process represents a clear violation of the fundamentals of peer review, our publishing policies, and publishing ethics standards. Apologies are offered to the reviewer whose identity was assumed and to the readers of the journal that this deception was not detected during the submission process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]