title: Practices, perceptions, and implications of fertilizer use in East-Central China.
abstract: Face-to-face interviews (n = 553) were conducted in five counties in East-Central China to study farmers' fertilizer application behaviors, decision-making processes, attitudes towards adopting better fertilizer application technologies, and environmental consciousness. The survey results revealed widespread fertilizer misapplication and highly variable application behaviors in the study regions. The lack of scientific knowledge on fertilizers and the absence of guidance from agricultural extension services have forced the farmers to rely on personal judgment and advice from fertilizer dealers and friends to make decisions in fertilizer application. Overall, farmers have been idiosyncratic in fertilizer application with limited adoption of better fertilizer application technologies. There are great potentials for reducing pollutant load from agricultural runoff through promoting scientific fertilizer application in the regions. However, farmers' diverse preferences over agricultural extension programs necessitate an integrated approach emphasizing farmer involvement throughout the development of such programs for promoting better fertilizer application practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Environmental Science and Engineering, Fudan University, Shanghai, 200433, China. xiaoying@fudan.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Xiaoying
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: College of Fisheries and Life Science, Shanghai Ocean University, Shanghai, 201306, China. bsfang@fudan.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Shubo
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fang
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D002681:China; D003657:Decision Making; D000067565:Farmers; D005308:Fertilizers / Q000032:analysis*; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D010465:Perception
chemical_list: D005308:Fertilizers
keywords: Environmental consciousness; Farmer behavior; Fertilizer use; Perception; Survey