Farmers’ knowledge of technical recommendations related to tomato crop production in Baghdad Governorate/Abu Ghraib district

Introduction

The issue of food security has captured the attention of many researchers, given the steady increase in the global population, and reducing poverty and hunger is one of the Millennium Development Goals, which world leaders have pledged to achieve on various occasions (Orsini et al, 2013: 54) [18] . Therefore, efforts must be made to confront hunger, improve farm incomes, and improve food security, especially in the poorest countries. Priority must be given to food security, especially in the poorest countries, to the issue of crop losses (Adepoju and Abimbola, 2014: 21) [17] . International seed production companies extract new types of tomatoes every year to meet the progress in modern methods of agriculture the different purposes for using this crop and the importance of this crop in various countries of the world. Therefore, the number of tomato varieties currently present in the world is very large (Adda, 2018: 12) [16] . Their varieties differ from each other in many aspects, such as the botanical aspect, such as the size of the vegetative growth, the nature of the growth, and the shape and size of the fruit. Tomato varieties also differ from each other according to their uses. Some varieties are suitable for making the paste, others are suitable for fresh consumption, and a third group can withstand long-distance shipping (Abu Goukh., 2017: 11) [7] . The annual global production of tomatoes is about 80 million tons, and China is considered the most productive country Of tomatoes, the United States, Turkey, Italy, and Egypt are among the countries that produce the most tomatoes, and China produces about 31 million tons annually, while farmers in the United States of America produce commercially more than 33 million metric tons annually, and about three-quarters of this crop is produced in California, and tomatoes are grown in All regions in America acknowledge it (Al-Hazzaa, 2013: 34) [3] . Tomato seeds are planted in April and May, and their plants are planted in May and June. This bunch does not succeed in many areas, or the regions of Basra and Karbala, because it www.extensionjournal.com has a moderate climate. One of the most important problems of this bunch is weak nodes due to the high temperature during the flowering and setting stages, and the fruits are exposed to blight. The sun, so it is better to plant varieties with strong vegetative growth and varieties characterized by their ability to set at high temperatures (Morsi et al., 2013: 76) [11] . Tomatoes grow well in fertile, warm, well-drained lands, and areas exposed to direct sunlight for not less than 6 hours a day. Tomatoes are one of the favorite crops for cultivation in home gardens because they can be grown in almost all types of lands, in addition to giving a high yield. In a relatively small area, most varieties produce from 7 to 5 kg of fruits per plant, and some tomato varieties can produce fruits that may weigh more than 300 kg each. (Beckles, 2012) [14] . The tomato plant requires relatively warm weather and a lot of sunlight. Tomatoes are mainly grown in greenhouses during cold climates, Tomatoes are usually placed in cages to keep the stems and fruits away from the ground. The tomato plant requires constant irrigation to avoid blossom end rot and fruit cracking. Tomatoes are susceptible to some pests and diseases, including bacterial wilt, early blight, wilt viruses, nematodes, and tomato worms. Many of these problems can be controlled through crop rotation, use of fungicides and pesticides, and planting resistant varieties (Ghirri et al, 2012) [15] . The tomato is a plant of high economic importance from the Solanaceae family. Tomatoes are grown in temperate and hot regions and belong to the genus Solanum. Like the potato, tomatoes are consumed in many and varied ways. They can be used as raw fruit without additives, and they are an ingredient in many dishes, sauces, and drinks. Tomatoes can be grown in... Open fieldsif done rationally and on a scalable basis, a good source of income. The tomato is a perennial plant, but farmers, in most cases, treat it as an annual. Most commercial tomato growers start crops from seeds (hybrid) in a protected environment. Internally, they prepare the field while waiting for the young seedlings to grow and be ready for transplanting (Al-Omar et al., 2012: 65) [4] . On the other hand, vegetables play a major role in the growth of the national economy and providing employment for many workers, and the tomato is one of the horticultural crops of great importance in people's daily food (Mahmoud 2006: 4.) [1] . Tomatoes are one of the most cultivated and consumed crops globally, and they are also one of the most widespread crops in the world, as tomatoes provide a wide range of nutrients and many health benefits to the body (Arab Organization for Agricultural Development, 2007: None) [2] . The tomato crop is considered one of the most important vegetable crops because it is one of the important crops in the Iraqi dietary pattern. It is one of the crops rich in mineral salts and vitamins necessary for human needs, in addition to being one of the main vegetable crops that is consumed in fresh form or manufactured as a staple food for the majority of the population, it is one of the strategic crops aimed at achieving food security to face the steady population increase (Al-Ani, 1985: 650) [9] . Iraq is considered one of the countries where tomato cultivation is good due to its suitable climatic conditions and arable areas. Despite the factors suitable for tomato cultivation, its production does not meet the needs of consumers in terms of quantity and quality, due to the farmers' limited experience with the processes that take place on the fruits after harvesting or after handling them. During its storage, which leads to the destruction of a large percentage of the crop due to mechanical and physiological damage, in addition to the accumulation of the crop and its abundance during the harvest season and the failure to follow the correct methods of marketing, which leads to a decrease in its prices and the farms' economic loss between supply and demand and the variation in prices and the prolongation of the period of their appearance in the markets (Al-Bamroun, 2008: 3) [6] . The marketing of agricultural products is characterized by a large percentage of postharvest losses ranging between 30-50% of the total production. These quantitative and qualitative losses occur in all stages of the post-harvest system. Marketing guidance is considered one of the branches of agricultural guidance, which is carried out by marketing agricultural crops in general, and vegetable crops. Especially since his interest does not stop at the harvest, but rather extends to include all marketing operations (Shaaban et al., 2015: 47) [10] . Therefore, attention must be paid to knowledge, which represents capital based on new and advanced information and ideas that are inexhaustible in use, and it is also considered an effective and vital tool to help farmers carry out their various jobs and activities to achieve economic and social goals and objectives (Hunt. 67, 2003) [19] . The tomato cultivation process begins from harvesting the crop, until the final delivery to the consumer. Farmers' lack of marketing knowledge has led them to follow traditional marketing methods, which has caused high rates of loss during postharvest operations, especially in horticultural crops, as they are highly perishable like tomatoes, which leads to low returns. Producers, weakening their competitive and marketing ability, and some losses cause a decrease in production, as well as what remains after harvesting the crop, which causes problems with the formation of waste that leads to difficulty in disposing of it (Abu Dhabi Agriculture and Food Safety Authority, 2019) [13] . Given the economic and nutritional importance of the tomato crop, farmers face many problems that lead to the decline and decline in the quality of the fruits and the inability of the product to compete in the local and foreign markets. The decline in quality is due to many reasons, perhaps the most important of which is the exposure of the fruits to significant damage during the harvesting, handling, and marketing processes, in addition to the sensitivity of the crop to temperatures. This is due to its high water content and the prevalence of many incorrect trading methods among farmers (Al-Wakil, 2010: 45) [8] . However, the reality of the situation indicates that there is a defect in agricultural operations and that production is often not translated into profits, as it is important to improve the quality and increase the shelf life of the crop by using the optimal method and technology to reduce the amount of waste and improve the quality, which is reflected in the added value and income (Al-Sayyid and Sanaa, 2006: 3) [5] . Transferring new information and knowledge related to a new agricultural idea is the first stage of cognitive behavioral change. Providing information about new agricultural practices that are appropriate for a specific environment is important for farmers and the rural community. Agricultural information is an important www.extensionjournal.com necessity for farmers, especially the innovator, to update his agricultural knowledge and skills, and this requires the necessity of providing him with information. Agricultural technology on an ongoing basis (HASKAH et al, 2024) [20] . Agricultural extension is the link between scientific research centers and farmers, as it transmits new agricultural recommendations to the farmers, after ensuring their suitability for them and urging them to accept them to solve their problems, and then conveying the effects of introducing these new recommendations to those conducting the research. Scientific (AL-Hamdany et al, 2021) [21,22] . Agricultural extension seeks to transfer this information, knowledge, results of scientific research, recommendations, experiences, and new and useful agricultural and household economic ideas clearly and understandably to rural people of all characteristics so that they can benefit from them while removing obstacles to their application (AL-Hamdany et al, 2021) [21,22] . The agricultural guide is considered one of the most important sources of information on which the audience of guides relies to obtain their information. Through this method, various information about agricultural innovations is transmitted from their sources to the farmers, and the effect of introducing these innovations is transferred from the guides to the change apparatus He, in turn, transfers them to scientific research centers. Hence came the idea of this study, which aims to identify the level of tomato growers' knowledge of post-production techniques in Baghdad/Abu Ghraib District and to define the problem of the study by asking the following research questions: It is clear from Table 1. that the level of knowledge of the respondents about the technical recommendations related to the production of the tomato crop in Baghdad Governorate/Abu Ghraib District is low, and this may be due to many reasons, including their weak knowledge of the technical recommendations in agricultural practices, as well as the technical recommendations in the production and cultivation of the crop, and also the recommendations Technical agricultural extension activities.

Identify the level of farmers' knowledge of the technical recommendations related to tomato crop production in Baghdad Governorate/Abu Ghraib District in each field of research (technical recommendations in agricultural practices, technical recommendations in crop production and cultivation, technical recommendations in agricultural extension activities). A. Technical recommendations on agricultural practices

The research results indicate that the level scores of farmers' knowledge of technical recommendations and agricultural practice ranged between (0-16) degrees, with an arithmetic mean of 7.95 degrees, and a standard deviation of 3.1. The respondents were distributed according to their knowledge into three categories, which were divided according to the number and proportions of respondents for each paragraph of the field. The respondents' percentage of knowledge of the paragraphs ranged between (8.76%-61.31%), as shown in Table No. (2). It is clear from Table 2 that the level of farmers' knowledge of the technical recommendations for agricultural practice.

The average tomato crop tends to be low. This may be due to their lack of knowledge of the necessity of irrigating the land before plowing, as well as sorting and grading the crop when marketing in different boxes that have special specifications and according to the desire of the consumer. B-Technical recommendations for crop production.

The research results indicate that the levels of farmers' knowledge of technical recommendations in crop production ranged between (0-8) degrees, with an arithmetic mean of 4.18 degrees, and a standard deviation of 3.3. The respondents were distributed according to their knowledge into three categories, which were divided according to the number and proportions of respondents for each of the paragraphs. The field and the percentages of respondents' knowledge of the paragraphs ranged between (27.01%-43.07%), as shown in Table No. (3). It can be seen from Table 3 that the levels of farmers' knowledge of technical recommendations in the production of tomato crops tend to be average and low. This may be due to their lack of knowledge of the safe use of agricultural pesticides that cause problems and harm to humans, as well as their lack of knowledge of using modern irrigation methods such as drip irrigation or spraying, which may The reason is its high material cost.

T-Technical recommendations for agricultural extension activities

The research results indicate that the level scores of farmers' www.extensionjournal.com knowledge of technical recommendations for agricultural extension activities ranged between (0-10) degrees, with an arithmetic mean of 5.21 degrees, and a standard deviation of 3.11. The respondents were distributed according to their knowledge into three categories, which were divided according to the number and proportions of respondents for each paragraph of the field. The respondents' percentage of knowledge of the paragraphs ranged between (8.76%-72.26%), as shown in Table No (4). The results of the research showed that many problems affect farmers' knowledge of technical recommendations related to tomato crop production in Baghdad Governorate/Abu Ghraib District. The problems were arranged by the respondents based on their importance from their point of view according to percentages, and as shown in Table 5. It is clear from Table No. (5). The most common problem facing farmers' knowledge of technical recommendations related to tomato crop production in Baghdad Governorate/Abu Ghraib District is the lack of a fixed price policy by the state with a value of (94.89), as well as the problem of (lack of cooperative marketing of the tomato crop) with a value of (90.51). It is followed by the problem of (commercial adulteration of pesticides and weak control) with a percentage of (89.78), as well as the problem of (rising production requirements such as fertilizers and fuel) with a percentage of (87.59), as well as the problem of (weak role of the agricultural extension worker in communicating with farmers) with a percentage of (87.59). 86.13), and it may be due to the lack of sufficient time for the agricultural extension worker to reach all the farmers. This indicates that the agricultural extension workers are busy with administrative and routine matters, which leads to the loss of time in the effort required to implement extension activities for the farmers. www.extensionjournal.com

Conclusions

The results of the research showed that the level of knowledge of the respondents about the technical recommendations related to tomato crop production in Baghdad Governorate/Abu Ghraib District is average and tends to decline. It is concluded that this weakness in the level of knowledge of farmers incorrectly practicing the technical recommendations and relying on backward agricultural traditions and customs in cultivating Tomato yield is not based on valid scientific recommendations. It is clear that the level of knowledge of the respondents about the technical recommendations related to tomato crop production in Baghdad Governorate/Abu Ghraib District in the areas of research is average and tends to decline, especially in the field of extension activities, which are weak, and listening to and watching them is few, and it is concluded from this that the performance of the extension organization is not at the required level.

Recommendations

The need for farmers to follow the tomato crop and shed light on this important segment of farmers because this crop has a major economic aspect in the life of the Iraqi family. It consumes a lot of it and is considered one of the important crops that is included in many foods that are important to the daily Iraqi table.

The agricultural extension organization must pay attention to tomato crop cultivators, publish what is important, especially modern agricultural technical recommendations, and deliver them to the farmer, distribute guidance bulletins, and intensify seminars for this purpose.

References

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