Factors determining use of biological disease control measures by the avocado industry in South Africa

•South African farmers were interviewed regarding adaptation of biological control.•Educational level, age, land owner status and land reform influence adaptation.•Farmers blamed previous poor biocontrol on environmental factors.•Inadequate technical knowledge of marketing staff contributes to poor adaptation.•The biopesticide registration process in South African limits marketing success.

Farmers in the northern avocado cultivation areas of South Africa were interviewed concerning their experience and perceptions of biological control. Factors affecting their decision to use biological control programmes as a disease control strategy, were also investigated. Results indicate that educational level, age and land owner status reflect the farmer's decision making ability and the level of commitment to adopt the new technology. Generations of family farming and farm management systems that have adopted food safety management systems also had an influence on their willingness to explore biological control. Although most farmers were aware of biological control, most could not define it. Farmers did not blame biological control for the previous poor results, but rather on environmental factors and a lack of perseverance on their side with the use of the product. Land reform aims to redistribute 30 percent of the country's agricultural land from white commercial farmers to previously disadvantaged communities by 2014. Farmers on farms with completed or invalid land claims were more willing to utilise biological control than growers without claims or with land claims that are pending. Companies distributing and selling biocontrol products indicated that the lack of technical knowledge by sales personnel is one of the main problems experienced with marketing biocontrol products. Manufacturing companies also experienced difficulty with the registration of new products in South Africa.