INTRODUCTION Small cardamom, Elettaria cardamomum (Maton), the “Queen of Spices” enjoys a unique position in the international spice market. It belongs to the family Zingiberaceae and it is native to the hills of Western Ghats of Kerala (Beevi et al., 2014). India is the leading producer of small cardamom occupying an area of 45,17,000 ha. producing around 38,000 MT in 2016, followed by Guatemala where the production is around 35,000 MT in the same period (International cardamom association ICA, 2019). In India, small cardamom is grown in the states of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. In Tamil Nadu, cardamom is grown over 4,03,000 hectares with a production of 37,000 tonnes (INDIASTAT, 2022). Despite the fact that India has the most cardamom growing land, productivity is low, owing to insect attack at all stages of the crop (George et al., 2015). Pest and disease incidence is high in cardamom which becomes a major challenge because of the absence of sufficient population of natural enemies of pests in the cardamom hills ecosystem and also complexities in the use of biological control methods and products (Murugan et al., 2017). Chemical control is the sole approach to pest management for the reasons stated above. However, pesticides used in excess and on a regular basis can leave residues in plants and soil (George et al., 2015). Gulf countries such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are the major importers of cardamom. Unfortunately, due to excessive levels of pesticide residues, India's cardamom exports have fallen by 80 per cent (Beevi et al., 2014). Cardamom, while being a valuable export spice, has not been well investigated in terms of insect pest dynamics and pest management strategies. With this background, the present study was conducted to investigate the insect pests that attack the cardamom crop, as well as the use of pesticides and pesticide usage patterns in major cardamom growing districts of Tamil Nadu. MATERIALS AND METHODS In the cardamom growing districts of Tamil Nadu, a detailed survey was undertaken. The survey was carried out in the districts of Nilgiris, Theni and Namakkal during February and March, 2022. Data on several aspects of pesticide usage such as source of information, type of pesticide usage, dose, frequency, safety precautions, knowledge on dosage recommendation, waiting period, type of disposal of empty pesticide containers and socio-economic status is collected from each district and documented. Details of the study area. To understand the pest status and pesticide usage pattern in the cardamom ecosystem in Tamil Nadu, a comprehensive survey was undertaken. The Theni, Nilgiris and Namakkal Districts (Fig. 1) were purposively selected based on the extent of cultivation (1351, 900 and 51 ha, respectively) and the survey details are presented in Table 1. Nature and source of data. The information on pest status and pesticide usage patterns was collected randomly from selected farmers from each district. Using a proper questionnaire format, information from 40 farmers were gathered for this investigation. Information from the farmers was collected individually in the study area using the prepared questionnaire. The questionnaire consisted of three major parts. Part 1: General information about the farmers (Farmer’s name, age, education details, family details). Part 2: Crop production information (Size of holding, crop-related data, the previous crop grown). Part 3: Crop protection information (Pest status, pesticide usage pattern which includes pesticides used, source of information on recommended pesticides, awareness about label information, pesticide application details, safety precautions, spray count, spray intervals, waiting period). The interview was conducted from February 2022 to March 2022. The questions were asked in order, from first to last, to give participants enough time to think about the question and respond appropriately. The respondents were completely volunteers and had complete discretion over whether or not to provide responses in the event of an explanation. However, no farmers refused to participate in the interview. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Selected socio-economic factors of the farmers According to the socio-economic condition of the data obtained, majority of cardamom growers (72 per cent) were male, whereas female was low (28 per cent). Similarly, comparable findings have been reported by (Tyagi et al., 2015). The respondents were an average age, farm experience and family size of 46.17 years, 10-25years and 5.04 members (Table 2). Despite the fact that the majority of the farmers were literate, knowledge of scientific pest management approaches was found to be lacking. This was in agreement with earlier report (Prakash et al., 2021). B. Information regarding cardamom cultivation Cardamom is a perennial herbaceous crop. All the farmers are practicing a monocropping system. The most common varieties are Nallani, Vazzhukka and Mysore are cultivated under red loamy and clay loamy soils. The majority of farmers follow drip irrigation and few farmers use sprinkler irrigation. C. Pest Status in the cardamom ecosystem The survey results depicted that shoot/capsule borer, Conogethis punctiferalis (Guenee) caused more damage (85.42 %) followed by thrips Sciothrips cardamom (Ramakrishna) (79.85 %), whitefly, Kanakarajiella cardamomi (David and Subramaniam) (43.03 %), hairy caterpillars, Eupterote cardamom (Reng.) (31.85 %), spotted red spider mites, Dolyhotetranychus floridanus (Banks) (19.43 %) and shoot fly, Formosina flaviceps (Mall). similar results were recorded by (Murugan et al., 2017, Vijayan et al., 2018) shown in Fig. 1. In Theni district thrips incidence was high while in Nilgiris and Namakkal incidence of shoot/capsule borer was high. Shoot fly infestation was more in Theni (25%) whereas in Nilgiris and Namakkal infestation was about 16.6 and 18.05 per cent respectively. The various insect pests infesting the cardamom ecosystem are shown in Table 3. D. Pesticides used in the cardamom ecosystem Survey revealed that on an average 19 pesticides are most frequently used by the farmers in the cardamom ecosystem (Table 4). The pesticides include profenophos 50% EC, quinolphos 25% EC, monocrotophos 36% SL, imidacloprid 17.80% SL, cypermethrin 5% EC, lamda cyhalothrin 5% EC, acetamiprid 20% SP, emamectin benzoate 5% SG, chlorantraniliprole 18.50% SC, fipronile 5%SC, flubendiamide 39.35% SC, chloropyriphos 20.00% EC, flonicamid 50.00% WG and spirotetramat 24 % SC. Among the pesticides, profenophos was most commonly used by the farmers (78.5 %) followed by lambda-cyhalothrin 5% EC (65.3 %). Farmers were also used insecticide mixtures like cypermethrin 5% EC + chloropyriphos 50 % EC and acephate 50% WP + buprofezin 20% WP. Shoot and capsule borer consumed more insecticide sprays (Conogethes functiferalis Guen.) followed by thrips (Sciothrips cardamomi Ramk.), leaf feeders and whiteflies (Basilepta fulvicorne Jacoby) in order (Murugan et al., 2014). Cardamom is also attacked by diseases like capsule rots (Azhukal disease) and rhizome rot. To manage these diseases farmers sprayed fungicides like copper oxychloride 50% WP and tebuconazole. Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIB & RC) approved four insecticides - quinolphos 25% EC, Monocrotophos 36% SL, lambda-cyhalothrinn 4.9% CS and diafenthiuron 50 % WP and two fungicides - copper oxychloride 50% WP and fosetyl-AL 80% WP for management of pest in cardamom. However, the rest of pesticides registered and recommended for the control of pest in other crops. E. General Awareness on Handling of Pesticides by Farmers Detailed pesticide usage pattern followed by the cardamom growing farmers depicts (Table 5.) that the majority of the farmers got the source of information on pesticide recommendations from pesticide retail shop (74.4 %) followed by fellow farmers (16 %) and horticulture officer (16 %). (Meenambigai et al., 2017; Prakash et al., 2021; Ramakrishnan et al., 2015; Anjali et al., 2018; Ngowi et al., 2007; Biradar et al., 2021). Earlier reports also shown the similar result on the source of information on pesticide recommendations. Only 25.5 per cent of farmers followed recommended dosage of pesticides and the rest of the farmers don’t have knowledge of the recommended dosage for the cardamom pest management. (Gaikwad et al., 2016; Abunyuwah et al., 2019). While spraying pesticides 78.5 per cent of farmers used bottle caps for measurement of pesticides and most of them (91.7 %) used sticks for mixing pesticides in the spray tank. Based on time of application, 37.5 per cent of farmers spray in the morning and 75 per cent of farmers sprayed in the evening. (Jamali et al., 2014). It is unfortunate to state that 72.2 per cent of farmers are not following safety measures during the handling of pesticides (Devi, 2009; Balasha et al., 2019). Before beginning spraying, 41 per cent of farmers paid attention to the label, 52.5 per cent of farmers sprayed pesticides at fortnight intervals while 79.2 per cent of farmers sprayed pesticides based on pest infestation. The waiting period, which they observed as a pre-harvest gap of seven days, was followed by all farmers. Only a few farmers practiced good agricultural practices for disposal of used pesticide containers by burying them in the ground, while the majority of farmers (96.5 %) dumped empty pesticide containers in their own fields or in open space (Ntow et al., 2006; Ali et al., 2022). The present survey concluded that pesticide use and consumption patterns, frequent interventions are required to encourage the safer use of insecticides in the cardamom crop.