Knowledge of Trichoderma Utilization in Rice Production of Farmers in Ban Tak District, Tak Province

Abstract

The objectives of this research were to study 1) the social and economic conditions of farmers 2) farmers ' knowledge regarding the utilization of Trichoderma in paddy fields and 3) problems and suggestions for the application of Trichoderma in rice cultivation. The population consisted of 120 members of the Community Pest Management Center who were registered with the Department of Agricultural Extension in 2022. Interview forms were used for data collection. Statistics used were frequency, percentage, mean, minimum, maximum, standard deviation, and ranking. The results showed that: 1) The majority of the farmers were female, with and average age of 54.92 years, and graduated from primary school. The average number of household agricultural worker was 2.19 people with an average rice cultivation area of ​​8.37 rai. The average experience in rice cultivation was 20.18 years. The average rice production cost was 2,400.20 baht/rai, and an average income was 3,483.77 baht/rai. 2) 51.67% of farmers had a moderate level of knowledge about Trichoderma, with an average score of 14.89 out of 21. They were most knowledgeable about the fact that Trichoderma fungus can help control plant diseases (85.00%), and they had the least knowledge about its use in preventing diseases in other crops (25.00%). and 3) farmers faced moderate-level problems in using Trichoderma in rice production, particularly regarding the need to apply Trichoderma multiple times consistently (µ =3.20).Therefore, agricultural extensionist should continuously and clearly impart knowledge about the use of Trichoderma to ensure that farmers can use it effectively. Additionally, applying Trichoderma effectively and creating incentives for farmers to use more Trichoderma.