Economics of Early-Season Fleahopper Control in Texas

Winfield Sterling and Albert Hartstack


 
ABSTRACT

The TEXCIM model can be run "on the farm" to estimate costs or benefits of fleahopper or Heliothis control. Estimates can be made of the economic impact of changes in planting date, harvest date, target yield, fleahopper density, plant density, insecticide applications, predator density, price of cotton, etc. on each field, farm, or community. For example, using TEXCIM and College Station growing conditions where no water stress is assumed, removal of all small squares for 30 days resulted in a $17.13 yield increase due to plant compensation. However, 50 days of total square removal yielded a $45.97 loss. These kind of cost-benefit estimates will usually change from field-to-field or farm-to-farm depending on growing conditions, plant variety, heat units, drought etc. Microcomputer models such as TEXCIM can keep track of the key variables so as to provide objective estimates of the economic impact of fleahoppers, fleahopper control or other crop management decisions. More attention must be paid to the costs of Type I errors (unneeded treatments) in order to obtain an objective cost-benefit analysis.



Reprinted from 1988 Proceedings: Beltwide Cotton Production Research Conferences pp. 374 - 379
©National Cotton Council, Memphis TN

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Document last modified Sunday, Dec 6 1998