Serdar DENİZ, Muhsin AKBABA, Tufan NAYİR, Mustafa Kemal BAŞARALI

Investigation of the Applicants’ Knowledge Level of Pesticide Applications in the Context of Malatya Good Agricultural Practice Education

Aim: Pesticides have been widely used in agriculture.Main goal of this study was to investigate of the applicants’ knowledge level ofpesticide applications inthe context of Malatya good agricultural practice education. Methods: The research was applied to 113 trained farmers who areregistered to Agriculture Chamber in Akçadağ,Malatya equipped with the good agricultural practice training.This descriptive study was performed by face to face interview withapplicators by44-question survey.Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: The average age is 55,dealing with pesticide application average is 24 years and average daily working hours are 8.70 people noted (61.9%)farming as their main occupation.61 people (54.0%)are primary/secondary school graduate and 5 participants are (4.4%)illiterate. 66(58.4%)have first aid kit,61 people (54.0%)didn't take security precautions for fire.47 people (41.6%)used sprayer, 49 people(43.4%) usedatomizer in application. Although 65 people (57.5%)perceive himself under threat of poisoning,69 (61.1%)people don’t have inspections at regular intervals.110 people(97.3%) after contacting with pesticides, all of them(113)wash hands before meals, 98 people(86.7%) did not eat at the place where he conducted pesticide application. 84 people (74.3%)noted that he uses pesticidesunconsciously, 106 people (93.8%)said that pesticides could enter through respiration in the human body, 36 people (31.9%) that he doesn’t read the content of pesticides, 97 people(85.8%)underlined that pesticides are harmful to human health.87 participants(%77.0)said that he knows the symptoms of pesticide poisoning.100 people(88.5%)use gloves,83 people (73.5%)wear masks as personal protective equipment. 107 people (94.7%)noted that they don’t know the number for national poison information center and 79 people(69.9%)said that they are unaware of antidote to pesticides. CONCLUSION and RECOMMENDATION:The level of knowledge and training of the applicators related to the implementation of pesticide wasnot enough.It was remarkable that althoughmore than half of the participants perceive themselves under the risk of poisoning;the rate for participating inthe training programs and rate of the health examination at regular intervals. Keywords: Good Agriculture, Pesticide, Application

Keywords:

Investigation of the Applicants’ Knowledge Level of Pesticide Applications in the Context of Malatya Good Agricultural Practice Education,

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Serdar Deniz, Muhsin Akbaba, Tufan Nayir, Mustafa Kemal Başaralı Malatya Public Health Directorate, CukurovaUniversity, Faculty of Medicine, Department of Public Health, Ministry of Health , Public Health Agency of Turkey