Knowledge management of growers in crop protection problems

The transfer of new crop protection techniques from research to practice is running unsatisfactorily in The Netherlands. Many promising new techniques are not picked up by the growers and consequently the national targets for fungicide reduction are not met. At the other hand farm records of LEI-DLO show huge differences in fungicide use among growers. This finding indicates, that there is scope for reduction. Surveys on Fungicide use and several kinds of related management factors brought interesting management mechanisms to light. Growers have a clear impression of the importance of specific diseases at their farms. Consequently they develop a personal risk perception for the major diseases. Depending on the level of his risk perception the individual grower develops a tactic behaviour and a strategic behaviour. In case of a high risk perception he combats the disease as good as possible (tactic behaviour). Simultaneously he tries to find knowledge and technology to adjust the farm circumstances in such a way that the disease pressure declines (strategic behaviour). After bringing down the disease pressure, the risk perception will also decrease and the grower will shift his strategic behaviour to the next constraint. This pattern makes clear, that farmers tackle their crop protection problems one by one, starting with the most acute one. Consequently they are very selective in knowledge and technology demand. They will not pick up new techniques which do not match with their actual constraints. The challenge for applied research and extension is to identify target groups and constraints in consultation with farmers. For that purpose co-operation of the technical and socio-economic disciplines is a conditio sine qua non.