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ARS Home » Midwest Area » Morris, Minnesota » Soil Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #63123
Title: A BIOECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF SITE-SPECIFIC MANAGEMENT FOR WEED CONTROL

Author
item ORIADE, C - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
item KING, R - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA
item Forcella, Frank
item GUNSOLUS, J - UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Submitted to: Agricultural Economics Review
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 7/30/1996
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary: Potential economic and environmental benefits of site-specific weed management was examined using the computerized weed management decision aid, WEEDSIM. Actual weed densities within commercial fields were used by WEEDSIM to make management recommendations for each portion of a field (site-specific management) and for whole fields (conventional management). The utility of site-specific management, over that of conventional management, increased as the patchiness of weeds increased within a field, and did so more for environmental criteria than for economic criteria. Overall, site-specific management appeared to be a promising tool for reducing environmental hazards associated with herbicide use, but its impact on profit was only modest.

Technical Abstract: Environmental awareness concerning pesticide hazards is kindling interest in control strategies that are both environmentally friendly and profitable. One such strategy is site-specific management (SSM) for weed control. SSM prescribes spot application of pesticides based on the distribution of pest populations rather than the standard prophylactic control preferred by farmers. This study examines the potential economic and environmental benefits of SSM as a weed control instrument, using a variant of the computer-based dynamic bioeconomic model, WEEDSIM (Swinton and King). Simulations with the model were carried out within a dynamic but deterministic framework. Differences in model performance under standard practices impute value to SSM. Findings suggest that patchiness in weed distributions plays a key role in the usefulness of SSM as a weed control tool. SSM seems to be a promising tool for reducing the environmental hazards of herbicide use, but its impact on profit is modest Therefore, it is doubtful if the farmers will be willing to adopt the practice under the prevailing circumstances.