Economic assessment of nematode biological control agents in a potato production model

Abstract

Summary Nematode parasitism is a yield limiting factor in many cropping systems, including potato production, which can translate into substantial economic losses. These impacted financial returns are simply calculated by subtracting the cost of production from total revenue (yield times the price per yield of potatoes). The production costs can include, but are not limited to, chemical and biological control agents. To assess economic returns associated with different nematode management strategies, we evaluated complete cost estimations for a representative commercial potato farm in central Michigan, USA. Economic returns were calculated using stochastic parameters for two biological control agents (MeloCon and Majestene), six chemical controls (Mocap, Movento, Nimitz, Velum and Vydate), and two soil amendments (poultry and dairy manure). Evaluated costs included stochastic estimations for price per unit weight of potatoes, fuel, labour and production land rent. Yield data from three field trials were used to create empirical distributions. Using yield data and stochastic cost estimations, we generated 500 simulations of net returns per treatment. The top three average returns were obtained from the use of Mocap, Nimitz and poultry manure. Velum, Movento, dairy manure and Vydate also gave returns significantly higher than no treatment at all; however, the biological nematicide, Majestene, showed negative returns. This simple financial model is a crucial layer of analysis on the performance of nematicides that can be adapted to advise growers through Agricultural Extension activities and needs to include the evaluation of biological control agents.