بررسي عوامل موثر بر دانش پسته كاران استان يزد در پيشگيري از آلودگي پسته به آفلاتوكسين

An Investigation of the Effective Factors Involved in Knowledge of Pistachio Farmers in Controlling Aflatoxin in Yazd Province, Iran

Pistachio is a highly valued export crop of Iran. One of the most important threats in production and export of pistachio is the problem of Aflotaxin. The main objectives of this study were to assess the pistachio farmersʹ knowledge in controlling aflatoxin, as well as to determine the relationship of aflatoxin control with farmersʹ professional characteristics. The results indicated that the majority (60%) of the farmers had a "low" to "average" level of knowledge of controlling aflatoxin. Astatistically positive significant relationship was observed between Farmersʹ knowledge of pistachio farming, their level of education, access to information sources, farmersʹ experiences of planting pistachio, and their crop yield.Multivariate stepwise regression analysis indicated that 48.2% of the variance in knowledge of pistachio farmers in controlling aflatoxin could be explained by frmersʹ level of education, their access to information sources and distance of farmersʹ farms froms agricultural service centers.