Comparative performance of single spray integrated pest management technology over conventional practices among cowpea farmers in south western Nigeria.

Abstract

Cowpea is among of the most widely grown legume in Northern and South Western Nigeria. However, the yield of cowpea has stagnated in recent years, mainly due to pest and diseases. In order to combat insect ravaging cowpea plots and reduce yield, integrated pest management (One spray regime) technology which rely on less use of pesticides, have been developed and demonstrated on-farm in South Western Nigeria for over 5 years. The objective of this study was to determine profitability of the one spray regime technology to farmers. Data were obtained from survey conducted between 2001 – 2005 where 180 farmers were selected using multi-stage sampling technique. Results showed that there is slight difference in yield per hectare for MOD 0.90ton, IT719 0.72ton Tede local 0.51ton with one spray region and yield per hectare for MOD, 0.92ton, IT719 0.75 ton and Tedel local 0.74 with 3 spray regime. Production cost reveal that minimum of N45,000 was recorded for MOD and IT719 per hectare and N40,200 for Tede local as against N65,000 production cost for MOD, IT719 and Tede local N60,000 with 3 spray regime. Comparative farmers’ return for one spray regime is higher for MOD N8,100,000, IT719 N3,096,000 for Tede local N2,120,740 as opposed to farmers return from MOD N4,500,000, IT719 N396,000 and Tede local N1,470,260 with 3 spray regimes. It is obvious from the findings that one spraying regime is economically viable and technically simple and should be promoted while 3 spraying regime should be discouraged among farmers in South Westhern Nigeria.

Key Words: On-farm, spray regime, cowpea, farmers, yield.