Chemical fertilizer plays an important role in increasing food production in China. Nevertheless, excessive nitrogen fertilizer use in China has resulted in severe environmental problems. The goal of this paper is to examine the impacts of an improved nitrogen management (INM) training experiment on farmers’ chemical nitrogen (N) use behaviors in maize production in China. Based on household data collected from 813 maize farmers in Shandong, China, this study finds that while INM training can significantly reduce farmers’ N fertilizer use, an INM training is not sufficient to change farmer’s practices significantly, and farmers only partially adopted the recommended INM. This study reveals that China faces challenges to transform its agriculture to a low-carbon one. The research also sheds light on China’s extension system and future technologies in meeting the objectives of reducing the excessive nitrogen fertilizer use in agricultural production.

Genetically modified (GM) technology can significantly reduce pesticide use and increase yield in crop production. However, the benefit from reducing pesticide use varies substantially among farmers. The overall goal of this paper is to understand the relationship between farmers’ knowledge of GM technology and pesticide use in genetically modified papaya (GMP) production. Based on a survey of 223 farms in three main papaya production provinces in 2010, the data show that almost all papaya planted in 2009 was genetically modified. However, only 28% of papaya farmers knew that they planted GMP, and 55% of them did not know GMP is resistant to papaya ringspot virus (PRSV). Further analyses using the general least squares (GLS) method show that farmers’ knowledge of GMP significantly affects their pesticide use, and potential gain from GM technology is far below its full potential. The paper concludes with policy implications.