Optimal Management of a Common Property Pest Under Risk: An Application to the Corn Rootworm

An integrated pest management model is developed for the northern corn rootworm, Diabrotica longicornis, and the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera, insect pests of corn. Uncertainty and risk aversion are incorporated into an economic threshold model. Two control actions, soil insecticide and crop rotation, are included. The effect of crop insurance and improved scouting accuracy on insecticide use is evaluated. The rootworm population is considered to be a common property resource with an exhaustible stock of susceptibility to insecticide. A second objective of the study is to evaluate the potential benefits of a regional approach to corn rootworm control, internalizing the externalities of insecticide resistance and pest movement among farms. A genetic model is used as the basis for predicting the influence of insecticide use rate on resistance buildup. The regional approach is compared with an individual farm approach in an intertemporal optimization model solved by nonlinear programming.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph.D.

Level thesis:degree_level

Dissertation

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Agricultural Economics

Grantor

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Year dc:date

2014

Author dc:creator

• Lazarus, William Franklin

• Economics, Agricultural

Identifier

(UMI)AAI8203514

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:www.ideals.illinois.edu:2142/69842