Hail netting: an economically competitive IPM alternative to insecticides for Midwest apple production

Frontiers in Insect Science

Insect Science

Gigi DiGiacomo¹  Sally G. A. Nelson²  William D. Hutchison²  Annie Klodd³  John Jacobson⁴ 

[1] Dept. of Applied Economics, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States;Dept. of Entomology, University of Minnesota, St. Paul, MN, United States;Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, University of Minnesota, Chaska, MN, United States;Pine Tree Apple Orchard, White Bear Lake, MN, United States;

关键词: hail netting;    integrated pest management (IPM);    apples;    partial budgeting;    net revenue;    insecticide alternatives;    exclusion;   

DOI  :  10.3389/finsc.2023.1266426

 received in 2023-07-24, accepted in 2023-10-09,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

Apple orchards are highly managed agricultural ecosystems where growers typically rely on insecticides to minimize the risk of pest-related fruit losses. Apple growers practicing integrated pest management require cost-effective alternatives to conventional insecticides for control of major pests such as codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) and apple maggot (Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh). Exclusion netting has been shown to effectively control multiple insect pest species, limit fruit damage and reduce the use of insecticides while also conferring consumer and environmental benefits. In this study, partial budgeting was applied to explore the financial efficacy of using a hail netting (DrapeNet®) system as a sustainable pest management strategy for Midwest U.S. apple (Malus x domestica). The cost of the hail netting was compared to a common Midwest insecticide spray regimen for apples using yield and quality data from a field study at two Minnesota apple orchards in 2021-2022. The PB analysis indicated that the netting system was an economically competitive alternative to conventional insecticide applications. The economic results were robust across a range of apple prices and yields suggesting that Minnesota apple growers can benefit economically from the application of hail netting for sustainable pest management.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 DiGiacomo, Nelson, Jacobson, Klodd and Hutchison