Determinants of Crop Residues Management In Marvdasht County, Iran

The crop residues management is one of the important aspects of the conservation agriculture and includes every kind of action and decision, which is done on the residues of the harvested crop in order to provide the best possible medium for the subsequent crop cultivation. This research used capital theory to investigate the determinants of crop residues management by farmers. Mixed quantitative and qualitative methods were used. A sample of 330 wheat growers in Marvdasht County selected through a multi stage classified random sampling was used in the survey part of the study. In the qualitative part of the study an extreme sampling method was used in order to select the two cases that were using different methods of crop residues management (burning and not burning crop residues) for a long time. The findings of study indicated that economic capital and the symbolic capital achieved through agricultural activities are the most important determinants of crop residues management behavior. Factors such as farm's technology, access to extension services, ownership of domesticated animals and government policies are other determinant factors, respectively. The case studies confirmed the findings of the survey. Based on the findings of the study recommendations are offered to promote more sustainable crop residual management.