Effect of color on the comprehensibility of pesticide pictograms by the agricultural workers in Central India

Abstract

Abstract In the central Indian context, there are some pictograms used in almost all pesticide packaging. These pictograms depict the nature of pesticides, their correct dosage and handling. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of different colors (black, red, yellow, green, blue, and pink) on the comprehensibility of pesticide pictograms. Thirty farmers were selected as the participants of this study. Two tests were conducted in this study, a Comprehension test and a Ranking test. In the Comprehension test, comprehensibility for different colors of pesticide pictograms was evaluated. In the Ranking test, the participant’s preference for colors was checked for the pesticide pictograms. Maximum comprehension level was observed for the pictogram of ‘Wash after using pesticide’ (100%) for all the colors. A minimum comprehension level was observed for the pictogram of ‘How to handle liquid’ (65%) for red color. Results indicated no significant variations (p > 0.05) in comprehension levels for changes in different colors of pesticide pictograms. Results of the ranking test indicated that the users preferred Red color (mean rank 1.37) for pesticide pictograms, while Yellow (mean rank 4.54) and Pink (mean rank 4.57) colors were the least preferred colors for pesticide pictograms. The results we mentioned are for comprehension level though no significant difference was noticed, but for the ranking test red color was preferred over other colors.