A Survey on the Perception of Companion Plants for Eco-Friendly Urban Agriculture among Urban Residents

Abstract

Background and objective: This study was conducted as part of research to promote garden diversity and seek sustainable garden management plans, as well as to determine the trends in understanding and use of companion plants as an eco-friendly farming method and provide the results as the basic data for sustainable urban agriculture. Methods: To determine the trends in garden activities, eco-friendly pest control, and use of companion plants, a survey was conducted on 230 urban residents participating in the Urban Agriculture Expert course. 223 copies of the questionnaire were collected excluding missing values, and IBM SPSS statistics Ver. 25 Program was used for frequency analysis, descriptive statistics, and regression analysis. Results: Most of the respondents were female (71.3%), homemakers (26.5%), were in their 50s (29.1%), and had 2 members in the family (27.8%). 164 respondents (73.5%) had experience in gardening, most of them once a week (31.7%) and for self-consumption (55.5%). Both men and women raised crops for safe food production (32.3%), and they most preferred the city garden type (39.9%). For the preparation of nourishment for eco-friendly garden management, most respondents (60.1%) purchased fertilizers from the market. For the reason why eco-friendly pest control is necessary, all respondents except 4 of them (98.2%) responded that it is necessary 'because it affects my health as I eat it (73.5%)', indicating that they still had a high level of interest in health. Only 43.9% of the respondents said that they had heard of companion plants, 89.2% responded that companion plants were effective in eco-friendly management, and 87.4% showed the will to participate in gardening using companion plants in the future. Finally, the regression analysis confirmed that the awareness of companion plants and satisfaction with gardening activities are key variables that increase the intention to participate in gardening activities in the future. Conclusion: Since plants require special care depending on the period and various diseases and insect pests occur, there must be continuous research on companion plants as an eco-friendly farming method. Moreover, by actively using companion plants in urban gardens with the utility value in not only eco-friendly pest control but also in helping plant growth, urban agriculture is expected to be continuously activated and promoted by increasing satisfaction in gardening activities with aesthetic landscaping and pest control.

Derivation of Necessary Items for Implementation of Gardens in Urban Agricultural Parks

“…Regarding gardening experience, 83 subjects responded that they are 'doing it now' (73.5%), followed by 'I' ve done it before, but not now' (16.8%) > 'never did' (8.0%) > others (1.8%) (Table 3). This result is consistent with the study by Hong et al (2021) reporting that 73.5% of respondents have gardening experience. Considering the increase in the area of urban agriculture and the number of participants every year, participation in urban agricultural activities will continue to grow.…”

“…26 subjects responded that they interact by talking to one another (55.4%), followed by just greeting one another (21.7%) > only recognizing faces (12.0%) > meeting regularly (6.0%) > don't know (4.8%). 38 subjects (45.8%) responded that they share the harvested crops with family and neighbors, followed by sharing with family and friends (32.5%) > donating to local facilities or institutions (13.3%) > using at home (8.4%), showing similar results with studies by Hong et al (2021), Chae et al (2019),…”

The Relationship of Urban Farming with Horticultural Therapy for Urbanites: A Systematic Review

“…Numerous attempts have been made to explore the physiological reactions of plants to activities like pot transfer or transplanting, which involve people actively participating in nature. This study demonstrated the value of urban farming as a complementary type of green space (Hong et al, 2021). Furthermore, it was anticipated that products from urban farming will affect human physiology during production and consumption (Lu et al, 2020).…”

Selection of Companion Plants for Pest Control of Cruciferous Crops

“…Companion plants are used for the purpose of blocking the inflow of pests or avoiding damage to establish an ecological pest control system for pests. As part of the push-pull farming method, the term is still unfamiliar in Korea (Cook et al, 2007;Finch and Collier, 2011;Parker et al, 2013), but the diverse terms used before such as companion plants, companion crops, and mixed food were unified and established as 'companion plants' in a relationship that helps one another or the other in the report by Hong et al (2020), after which the term has been more widely understood (Hong et al, 2021). Chrysanthemum farms effectively attracted thrips using eggplants as a trap plant (Kang et al, 2011).…”