western corn rootworm, a new threat to European agriculture: opportunities for biotechnology

BACKGROUND: During the early 1990s, the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Le Conte (WCR), a maize pest, invaded the European continent. The continuous spread of the pest has introduced a new constraint into European maize production. As the damage caused by the invasive species i...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Pest management science 2010-09, Vol.66 (9), p.956-966
Main Authors: Dillen, Koen, Mitchell, Paul D, Looy, Tinne Van, Tollens, Eric
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Administrative Personnel
Agricultural biotechnology
agricultural policy
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Agriculture - economics
Agronomy. Soil science and plant productions
Animals
Bacillus thuringiensis
Biological and medical sciences
Biotechnology
Bt gene
Bt maize
Coleoptera
Competitiveness
Control
Corn
crop models
Crop protection
Crop rotation
decision making
Diabrotica virgifera virgifera
Economics
Europe
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Genetically engineered organisms
Genetics and breeding of economic plants
GM crops
insect control
insect pests
Introduced Species
invasive species
Models, Theoretical
Monte Carlo simulation
optimization
Pest control
Pests
Phytopathology. Animal pests. Plant and forest protection
plant protection
profitability
Protozoa. Invertebrates
Regression Analysis
resistance management
Simulation
simulation models
Sound
transgenic plants
Worms
Zea mays
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Summary:BACKGROUND: During the early 1990s, the western corn rootworm, Diabrotica virgifera virgifera Le Conte (WCR), a maize pest, invaded the European continent. The continuous spread of the pest has introduced a new constraint into European maize production. As the damage caused by the invasive species is highly variable and different crop protection (CP) strategies are available, farmers' optimal strategies are not obvious. This study uses a simulation model to assess the competitiveness of different CP strategies in seven Central European countries.RESULTS: Results indicate a high degree of heterogeneity in the profitability of different CP strategies, depending on the production parameters in each country. In general, crop rotation and Bt maize offer the best solutions to farmers, but, in continuous (non-rotated) maize cultivation, chemical CP options may capture part of the market. For Austrian continuous maize production it is found that not deregulating Bt maize implies that farmers forego revenues of up to [Euro Sign]59 ha⁻¹.CONCLUSIONS: In the presence of WCR, producing maize by an economically sound method requires incorporating country- and farm-specific characteristics into the decision framework. Also, not deregulating Bt maize has direct monetary consequences for many farmers that could influence total maize output and resistance management. Copyright
ISSN:1526-498X
1526-4998
1526-4998
DOI:10.1002/ps.1966