Journal of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences ISSN:2233-8322(Print) 2508-870X(Online) 농업생명환경연구

Following the full implementation of the Positive List System (PLS) for all the crops in 2019, the Maximum Residue Limit (MRL) of pesticides was established as 0.01 ppm. However, earlier PLS systems for nut and tropical crops carried out in 2016 showed that 6% of crops exceeded this residue limit (0.01 ppm), in comparison to 1.7% in 2015. In addition, farmers were worried about minor crops, as an MRL was not established for many of these. The aim of this survey was therefore to increase awareness of PLS and patterns of pesticide application after PLS implementation through questionnaire for farmers. We surveyed 542 and 109 vegetable farmers in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces to figure out awareness of PLS, and pesticide application patterns, respectively. 96% of farmers understand the PLS system, and they believed that PLS has more positive than negative effects. However, 19% of farmers answered that registered pesticides for crops were not sufficient to follow up on PLS. For patterns of the pesticide use for 20 crops after PLS, farmers applied pesticides 5.6 times compared to 5.5 times before PLS, which represents an increase of only 0.1%. In addition, 69% of farmers followed the recommended dilution rate for pesticide safety use criteria. The cost for pesticide purchase slightly increased after PLS due to recommended pesticide use and organic substance use. According to surveys for awareness of PLS and pesticide use patterns, PLS could positively influence farmers and agricultural products for safety.