To minimize environmental damage, conserve global diminishing fertilizer reserves, all while maximizing food production, it is essential that farmers apply phosphate fertilizers at the optimal rate. The purpose of this study is to assess grower attitudes and behavior, with respect to proper application of phosphorus, and to investigate how certain exogenous factors might influence such applications. Data were analyzed from a survey conducted in North Carolina, USA, with 122 farmer participants. The findings reveal that annual phosphorus applications consistently exceed recommendations, which indicates overapplication, leading to economic inefficiency and environmental concerns. Overapplication is neither due to knowledge gaps in nutrient concentrations in the soil nor the lack of interest in soil sampling, as 99% of farmers submit soil tests as frequently or more frequently than every two years. Only 36% of growers indicated that they would not apply phosphorus if their soil report indicated that levels were sufficient, and that none was required. Additionally, overapplication is not strongly influenced by price effects, as only nine percent of growers abandoned applications in 2021, following a dramatic spike doubling fertilizer prices. The adoption of reduced phosphate fertilization will depend on strong local trusted technical assistance and continued extension education.

Damage caused by pests and diseases is one of constraints on crop production for food security. Based on the use of questionnaire and interviews that were conducted in Kabare territory (SouthKivu), this study was carried out to (i) assess farmers practices, attitudes, and knowledge about pesticides use, and (ii) assess the human health and physical environment effects using pesticides. Data was collected from 300 small-scale farmers in study area. Results showed that majority of our respondents were men (59 %) rather than women (41 %) and local knowledge of pesticide use was low (60 %). Education level had a significant influence (p < 0.01) on level of knowledge about pesticide use, time and dose of treatment, method of control, and persistence time. In addition, education level influence significantly farmers' attitudes before and after pesticide treatment (p < 0.05). Pest management control, time of pesticide application, and packaging management method varied significantly with level of local knowledge (p < 0.01). Pesticides use by small-scale farmers has an effect on water, soil, and air quality. It also causes human pathologies such as vomiting, eye irritation, and even loss of life in event of heavy exposure. Inhalation and dermal exposure are main and most dangerous routes of pesticide exposure in our study area, which lacks protective strategies. Finally, use of pesticides disrupts biodiversity through the disappearance of pollinators, predators, parasitoids, and soil microorganisms. Therefore, broad continuity of this study with integration of other scientific aspects would effectively contribute to the improvement of environmental quality.

The perceptions and attitudes of community residents are a mirror of tourism development. Little research has been conducted on the effects of place attachment and emotional solidarity on community residents' attitudes toward tourism in China's glacier tourism-related areas. In this paper, we selected the southernmost marine glacier in China, Hailuogou Glacier Forest Park, as a case study, and constructed a structural equation model of residents' tourism perceptions and attitudes based on 358 valid questionnaires obtained from fieldwork. We analyzed the logical connection and influencing relationship between place attachment, residents' perceptions (residents' benefits and environmental perceptions), and community residents' attitudes (security, support, satisfaction), and explored countermeasures and suggestions for building a harmonious host-customer relationship in the Hailuogou area to improve glacier tourism. The results of the study show that the influence of place attachment and residents' perceptions on emotional solidarity is different from the degree of influence of emotional solidarity on residents' tourism attitudes, with the most significant positive influence of place attachment on emotional solidarity and the greatest influence of emotional solidarity on sense of security. Emotional solidarity had a certain mediating effect between place attachment, residents' perceptions, and residents' tourism attitudes. Significantly, emotional solidarity had the most fully mediated effect between place attachment and support, reaching 73.61%. The moderating effect of place attachment reflects that the higher the place attachment, the weaker the correlation between residents' perceptions and residents' tourism attitudes. Meanwhile, residents' tourism attitudes will weaken their influence with the increase in emotional solidarity. Based on the above results, relevant suggestions are made to provide a theoretical basis and decision-making reference for the development and management of glacier tourism destinations.