Title: An environmental - economic perspective on integrated weed management in Iran
Abstract: Inputs used in crop production, such as herbicides, generally create environmental externalities. One solution to minimizing these adverse impacts is adoption of integrated weed management (IWM) with the view of reducing herbicide use. This paper estimates farmers' willingness to pay for adoption of better weed management methods. Results also suggest that willingness to pay (WTP) for IWM is more than those for other weed management methods. Producers have a higher WTP for bio-herbicides and other efficient herbicides that manage weeds and reduce negative environmental and health impacts. These results suggest that farmers value various environmental goods and services. The study also identified factors that influence adoption of IWM on wheat farms in Iran using multinomial logit model. Results show that total annual income and area under irrigated wheat had a positive influence on the choice of IWM, while weed damage, perennial characteristics of weeds and awareness of weed resistance to herbicide had a negative effect. [Mohammad Ghorbani & Suren N. Kulshreshtha (2012). An environmental - economic perspective on integrated weed management in Iran. Weed Technology, on-line Nov 18. dx.doi.org/10.1614/WT-D-10-00122.1] ${imageDescription} Comment
Keywords: Integrated weed management, Iran, Wheat production, Willingness to pay