Small investments to battle soybean pest paying off big, says MSU researcher
March 23, 2009
This is Michigan State University agricultural economist Scott Swinton. Credit: Scott Swinton, MSU
The small amount of money put toward fighting the tiny, yet destructive soybean aphid will pay big dividends in the coming years, said a Michigan State University economist, thanks to a research and outreach system developed during the last 50 years.
State and federal governments have spent $17 million on soybean aphid research and education since 2003, MSU agricultural, food and resource economics professor Scott Swinton said. The net economic benefit of that integrated pest management work, or IPM, should reach $1.3 billion during the next 15 years, he said. That's an annual rate of return of 180 percent.
"This is an example of what a good payoff you can get as a result of long-term research," Swinton said. "There's been a half century of research into integrated pest management. In the process a lot of techniques were developed and lots of understanding was gained about the relationships between crop and pest life cycles, infestations and the weather to decide when it's necessary to control them without wasting money and creating health risks."
Integrated pest management "takes a comprehensive approach to pest management that balances economics with environmental and human safety, as well as with what makes sense on the ground in the local community," said Michael Brewer, MSU's IPM Program coordinator.
Controls, which might include chemical and biological methods, are only put into action once a carefully determined cost-effectiveness threshold is crossed. Fewer than 250 aphids per plant, for example, probably won't impact soybean yield and early use of insecticides could actually kill beneficial insects such as parasitic wasps.
"For me it's almost like having a good national defense system in case you're attacked in a time of war," Swinton said. "Having a good IPM research and outreach system enables you to respond rapidly to invasive species like the soybean aphid."
Soybeans are the second largest cash crop in the United States, exceeding 3 billion bushels in 2005 with sales of $17 billion. Two-thirds of the crop goes to poultry, pig and cattle feed, and about a third is exported, according to government figures.
Soybean fields could be left insecticide-free in the Midwest until just five or 10 years ago, when aphids began to appear in north-central states. By 2005, 22 percent of soybean acreage nationally was being treated for the sap-sucking pests, which stunt plant growth and transmit viruses. Michigan's acreage treatment rate rose to 42 percent by then, and Minnesota's to 56 percent.
Swinton and doctoral student Feng Song measured the cost of state and federal soybean aphid research and outreach programs since they began in 2003, and calculated the net benefits to growers and consumers during the next 15 years. They present their research results at the National IPM Symposium in Portland, Ore., March 24.
-
Diverse landscapes are better: Policymakers urged to think broadly about biofuel crops
Dec 15, 2008 |
not rated yet |
0
-
No Signs of Soybean Rust Found in Virginia
Jul 17, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Wasps used to fight soybean aphids
Jul 25, 2007 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Aphid population control is studied
Nov 15, 2006 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Connectivity illuminates risk of spread of crop pests, diseases
Feb 02, 2009 |
not rated yet |
0
-
Fast photon control brings quantum photonic technologies closer
1 minute ago |
not rated yet |
0
-
Engineers build first sub-10-nm carbon nanotube transistor
Feb 01, 2012 |
4.9 / 5 (33) |
30
-
Something old, something new: Evolution and the structural divergence of duplicate genes
Jan 31, 2012 |
4.6 / 5 (7) |
1
-
The hidden nanoworld of ice crystals: Revealing the dynamic behavior of quasi-liquid layers
Jan 30, 2012 |
5 / 5 (5) |
1
-
Stock market network reveals investor clustering
Jan 27, 2012 |
3.9 / 5 (23) |
8
-
Factors affecting beet root cell membrane
23 hours ago
-
Stem cell question.
Feb 10, 2012
-
Protease cleavage
Feb 10, 2012
-
Pertubance in a model
Feb 10, 2012
-
Cancer drugs and Alzheimer's, Oh my!
Feb 09, 2012
-
Squishing cells
Feb 09, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Biology
More news stories
Big Society could threaten biodiversity conservation
A study of the Moray Firth Seal Management Plan (MFSMP), in north-east Scotland, identified four key conditions for long-term success, three of which pointed to the importance of direct government involvement.
10 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
Biobased approaches examined in fight against zebra chip
Thanks to investigations by scientists-turned-detectives with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and other agencies, potato growers in the western United States and abroad now know the identities of ...
30 minutes ago |
not rated yet |
0
New molecule has potential to help treat genetic diseases and HIV
(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemists at The University of Texas at Austin have created a molecule that's so good at tangling itself inside the double helix of a DNA sequence that it can stay there for up to 16 days before ...
2 hours ago |
5 / 5 (2) |
0
|
Integrated pest management recommendations for the southern pine beetle
The southern pine beetle, Dendroctonus frontalis Zimmermann, is a chronic insect pest within pine forests in the southeastern United States. Under favorable environmental and host conditions, it is an agg ...
5 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Germination of Bacillus species which can lead to food poisoning
Some bacteria can form spores (survival capsules) that are particularly resistant to heat. Since sporogenous bacteria can also cause food poisoning and a reduction in food quality, they constitute a significant ...
1 hour ago |
not rated yet |
0
Transforming galaxies
(PhysOrg.com) -- Many of the Universe's galaxies are like our own, displaying beautiful spiral arms wrapping around a bright nucleus. Examples in this stunning image, taken with the Wide Field Camera 3 on ...
'Smart' microcapsules in a single step
(PhysOrg.com) -- A new, single-step method of fabricating microcapsules, which have potential commercial applications in industries including medicine, agriculture and diagnostics, has been developed by researchers ...
New ability to regrow blood vessels holds promise for treatment of heart disease
(Medical Xpress) -- University of Texas at Austin researchers have demonstrated a new and more effective method for regrowing blood vessels in the heart and limbs a research advancement that could have ...
A continent ablaze in auroral and manmade light
The North American continent is literally set ablaze in a confluence of Auroral and Manmade light captured in spectacular new videos snapped by the astronauts serving aboard the International Space Station ...
Ethanol mandate not the best option
Many people are willing to pay a premium for ethanol, but not enough to justify the government mandate for the corn-based fuel, a Michigan State University economist argues.
Nanostructured electrodes for rechargeable sodium-Ion batteries
Highly efficient 3V cathodes for rechargeable sodium-ion batteries have been developed by users from Argonne National Laboratory's Materials Science, Chemical Sciences & Engineering, and X-ray Sciences Divisions, ...