Monday, 15 November 2004 - 9:42 AM
0098

Assessment of farmer knowledge, attitudes, and practices in banana weevil management in Talamanca, Costa Rica

Ruth M. Dahlquist, dahl1805@uidaho.edu1, Beth Polidoro, beth8402@uidaho.edu1, Sanford D. Eigenbrode, sanforde@uidaho.edu1, Matthew J. Morra, mmorra@uidaho.edu1, Eduardo Somarriba, esomarri@catie.ac.cr2, Dietmar Stoian, stoian@catie.ac.cr2, Luko Hilje, lhilje@catie.ac.cr2, and Nilsa A. Bosque-Pérez, nbosque@uidaho.edu1. (1) University of Idaho, Department of Plant, Soil and Entomological Sciences, P.O. Box 442339, Moscow, ID, (2) Centro Agronómico Tropical de Investigación y Enseñanza (CATIE), 7170, Turrialba, Cartago, Costa Rica

Bananas and plantains are important cash crops for many indigenous Bribri and Cabécar farmers in the Talamanca region of Costa Rica. Plantains are cultivated in monoculture with the use of pesticides, and organic bananas are cultivated in small monoculture patches or in agroforestry systems. The banana weevil (Cosmopolites sordidus Germar) is the most damaging insect pest on bananas and plantains in this area. Control methods used by indigenous farmers may include pesticides and various cultural practices, but these have not been formally documented. An assessment of current pest control practices utilized by small-scale producers was conducted at household level in five communities within the Bribri-Cabécar indigenous reserve along a gradient from most remote to least remote settlements. Additionally, farmers' knowledge and attitudes regarding the pest status of the banana weevil and the effectiveness of control methods were assessed. Methods included farm mapping, semi-structured interviews, transect walks, ranking of pest problems, and key-informant interviews with local agronomists and community leaders. Results of the assessment will be presented.


Species 1: Coleoptera Curculionidae Cosmopolites sordidus (banana root borer)
Keywords: Banana pests

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