Farmers’ Knowledge of Integrated Pest Management of Cotton Crop in Some Villages of Ismailia Governorate

The aim of this research was to determine knowledge level of the farmers concerned the integrated pest management recommendations (IPM) of cotton at Ismailia Governorate. In addition to determine the correlation relationship between knowledge degree of the farmers and the studied variables. Furthmore, determine the information sources of the (IPM) . Consequently, identification of the most important problems facing cotton growers in the research area .
This research was conducted in Ismailia on a sample of 302 respondents with a percentage of 22% of the whole farmers of country  Data were collected through which  a personal interview guided by a questionnaire during the months of March of 2020, and the data were quantitatively processed and statistically analyzed using the tabular presentation with frequency, percentages, and arithmetic mean , And the simple correlation coefficient.
The most important results were:
- The general level of knowledge of the surveyed farmer was low regarding with their knowledge about the integrated management methods, it reaches 48.4% of the respondents.
- Farmers of knowledge degree was average regarding both of application of Agricultural duration and agricultural Practices that reaches to 51.8% besides the use of mechanical control which found to be 59%, On the contrary, farmers knowledge level regarding was use of legislative control was low as it reached 40% likewise the chemical control that found to be 42.8% of the respondents.
- It was found that there was a correlation a significant between the Farmers’ Technical Knowledge of (IPM) on Cotton Crop and the age variable of the surveyed farmer (-.147*) however,this relationship goes direct at a significant level (0.01) for the surveyed farmer according to : The degree of regular education, years of experiences of (IPM) and the rate of  visit of the IPM experts which found to be 0.232 ** , 0.287 ** and 0.211 **, respectively .
- The most reliable information sources of IPM were : family, neighbors and friends, director of the agricultural administration, director of the extension center, and local leaders with a percentage of 96%, 83%, 70%, 58%, respectively .
- The most important problems facing farmers in the field of using (IPM) of Cotton were: the low price of the cotton quintal, high labor costs, high costs of weeds control, high prices of insecticides and chemical fertilizers beside the equal prices of cotton among farmers regardless of their rank with percentage of 88.7%, 82.8%, 77.2% and 73.5%, respectively.