Abstract:
Mango (Mangifera indica) has been recognized as a fruit of economic and nutritional importance to Kenyan large and small scalefarmers. Production and marketing of this fruit is however, severely hampered by fruit fly infestation which causes enormous fruit losses and reduces access to export market due to quarantine restrictions imposed by importing countries.Control of this pest has been primarily dependent on chemical pesticide application, a strategy that has been shown to be ineffective due to the biological nature of the pest. This has led mango farmers to misusepesticides through overdosing pesticide concentration, use of unrecommended pesticides brands andfrequent spraying, all with the objective of increasing fruit fly control effectiveness.To respond to this pesticide ineffectiveness and overuse, the International Centre for Insect Physiology and Ecology (ICIPE) has developed and disseminatedan integrated pest management package to reduce fruit fly infestation as well as minimize chemical pesticide application on mangoes. Mango farmers who participated in the trials of the mango fruit fly IPM package recorded lower fruit damage of less than 14 percent compared to non-participating farmers who recorded fruit damage of between 24-60 percent. Despite the success of the fruit fly IPM package during trials and its potential demand as evidenced by farmer’s willingness to pay for the technology, its intensity of adoption in Kenya has not been studied. There also exists a dearth in knowledge on factors influencing pesticide misuse among mango farmers in Embu East Sub-County.The study area (Embu East Sub-County)was chosen because it is a major mango producing area which hosted the mango fruit fly IPM package trials project. Using a sample of 805 mango farmers selected using multistage and proportionate to size random sampling procedure, the study sought to assess the intensity of adoption of the mango fruit fly IPM package and the factors influencing its intensity of adoption using thePoisson regression model. A logistic regression modelwas also estimated to examine the determinants ofpesticides misuse.The results of the v study revealed that 58.54 percent of the sampled farmers adopted at least one component of the mango fruit fly IPM package. It was also found thatgender of the household head, education of the household head, number of mature mango trees planted, use of spraying protective clothing, distance to nearest mango input market and access to extension services had a significant positive influence on the intensity of adoption of the IPM package. However, obtaining pest management information from pesticides dealers and traders had a significant negative influence on the intensity of adoption of the IPM package.The results of the study further revealed that 67.45 percent of the sampled farmersmisused pesticides while controlling mango infesting fruit flies.The factors which had a significant positive influence on pesticide misuse were;number of years of formal education completed, use of spraying protective gear, adoption of at least one IPM component and obtaining pest management information from pesticide dealers and traders. However, the dependency ratio had a significant negative influence on pesticides misuse. These results of the study support the recommendation that;agricultural extension service should be made more accessible to farmers in order to enhance IPM adoption,farmers should be encouraged to seek pest management information from independent sources such as agricultural extension officers, farmers should be trained on both health and environmental hazards associated with pesticide use andIPM promotional campaigns should be tailored to suit the needs of large mango orchard operators