Diagnóstico del uso de plaguicidas en el cultivo de tomate riñón en el cantón Paute

Abstract

Tomato is very susceptible to pests and diseases, for which farmers worldwide and in the Canton Paute -place where the research was conducted- use pesticides for their prevention and control. Typical for the farmers in the study area is that they do not respect the recommendations of the manufacturers; they apply pesticides in a rather uncontrollable manner. By lack of the systematic measurement of pesticide residues in harvested tomatoes, the risk for food poisoning is not unrealistic. Further, the technology to remove pesticide residues from surfaces of vegetables and fruits is not yet available. To assess in the study area the pesticide use and practice of application, a descriptive transversal study between April and June 2013 was organized by means of a questionnaire administered to 60 small-scale tomato growers. The survey reveals that farmer’s knowledge of pesticide use -which pesticide to use, its concentration and time of application- is limited. Therefore, the study recommends that legal standards, regulating all aspects related to the use and handling of pesticides, are developed together with the organization of capacitating workshops. In addition, the study recommends that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (MAGAP) provides infrastructure for measuring pesticide residues, and help producers in the introduction of technology for the postharvest treatment to reduce health risks for the consumption of pesticide-contaminated vegetables.