Endosulfan residues and farmers’ replacement behaviors of endosulfan in the north-west inland cotton region

Highlights

● The situation of endosulfan residues in cotton fields were assessed.

● A KAP survey was carried out for cotton farmers.

● Endosulfan sulfate was the main endosulfan residue in the soil.

● Cotton farmers scored low on knowledge about the phase-out of endosulfan.

Abstract

We assessed the situation of endosulfan residues in cotton fields after the endosulfan ban came into effect and the current knowledge, attitude, and practice (KAP) of cotton farmers on the phase-out of endosulfan and the application of alternative technologies. Topsoil samples (n = 91) of cotton fields were collected from the major cotton-producing areas in China, namely the north-west inland cotton region, and the endosulfan residues were analyzed. A KAP survey was carried out for cotton farmers, and 291 questionnaires were distributed. The influences of gender, age, education background, cotton planting years, publicity and training, income sources, and other factors on cotton farmers’ KAP were analyzed. The results showed that endosulfan sulfate was the main endosulfan residue in the soil, followed by β-endosulfan and α-endosulfan, the average residual contents were 0.569, 0.139, and 0.060 µg/kg, respectively. The results of the KAP study showed that cotton farmers scored low on knowledge about the phase-out of endosulfan and the application of alternative technologies but high on attitude and practice. The number of family members, years of cotton planting, age, and the cotton-planting area had different degrees of influence on KAP scores. The training could significantly improve the KAP scores of cotton farmers; training should be more targeted and designed reasonably for key groups, such as men and the population under 30, followed by training them to use pesticides safely. For large-scale cotton growers, training should focus on green prevention and control technologies.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Cotton fields / Endosulfan residues / Farmers / KAP survey / Replacement behaviours

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Acknowledgements

This study was funded by the GEF Trust Funds “Phase-out of Endosulfan in China” (00099101). We appreciate the assistance LangYu, Binghui Liu, and Jiangfeng Ma provided for the questionnaire survey.

Conflict of Interests

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Electronic Supplementary Material

Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-024-1803-8 and is accessible for authorized users.

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