Social Factors and Selective Technology Adoption: The Case of Integrated Pest Management

The adoption of most introduced technologies is limited and often partial, even when their benefits have been proven through research and experimentation. This study illustrates the extent to which farmers are selective and adaptive in their adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices for pears in California, USA. Adoption was studied in relation to five social factors: education, influence of agricultural extension, market strategy, farm diversity, and farm type (business or family). The incidence of selective adoption can have important consequences for the success or failure of agricultural technologies and should be a subject for adaptive research by social scientists.