Farmer management of potato insect pests in Peru : report of an interdisciplinary research project in selected regions of the highlands and coast

Farmers in Peru, as in the rest of the world, rely increasingly on chemical pesticides. Interdisciplinary field research was carried out in three regions where pesticide use has increased rapidly. The research focused on farmers" practices for the control of three major pests: Andean weevil (Premnotrypes spp.), potato tuber moth (Pthorimaea operculella [Teller) and Symmetrischema plaesiosema [Turner]), and leaf miner fly (Liriomyza huidobrenzis (Blanchard). The farmers in the sample recognized all of the major insect pests, although they used a diversity of local names for them. Their pest management strategies included direct control practices, long rotations, cultural practices, and chemical insecticides. The latter were found to be the most widely used of all purchased inputs, although the quantities applied and the total cost varied over a wide range. Advertising by multinational firms and the advice of salesmen and local merchants have been far more effective in providing timely information than the government"s research and extension services. Certain products and application practices have become widely adopted, even though there is good evidence that these are neither the most effective nor the most economical technologies which could be used. Integrated pest management (IPM) can only become a reality if various component technologies are taken up by farmers and combined and adapted to their own conditions. Interdisciplinary research and extension are required to provide farmers with better components and to help adapt them to local circumstances. On-farm research -- surveys, on-farm monitoring, and on-farm experiments -- have important roles to play. This study has brought these elements together in an attempt to learn about farmers" management of three important insect pests, and to explore methods for incorporating the user"s perspective into entomological research.