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ECONOMICS OF INSECTICIDAL CONTROL OF FLEA BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: CHRYSOMELIDAE) ATTACKING RAPE IN CANADA1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

R. J. Lamb  and
W. J. Turnock
R. J. Lamb
Affiliation:
Research Station, Agriculture Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2M9
W. J. Turnock
Affiliation:
Research Station, Agriculture Canada, Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2M9
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Abstract

The costs and benefits of insecticidal control and the losses attributable to flea beetle damage are estimated for oilseed rapes in Canada. Analyses of two farm surveys and reports on the efficacies of the various control practices conducted in test plots led us to calculate three sets of estimates based on different assumptions. Four-fold differences are observed between the lowest and highest estimates. The lowest estimates are adopted as the most realistic. The estimated losses were $72 million in 1979, 8% of the annual production. In 1979 growers spent about $12 million on insecticidal control which saved about $44 million worth of production. We conclude that flea beetle damage to rape causes an average annual yield loss of about 10% and is higher in Manitoba than Saskatchewan. The damage levels estimated from small test plots are higher, on average, than those in commercial fields, which accounts for most of the differences among estimates.

Résumé

Les rentabilités de la lutte chimique contre les altises et les pertes attribuables à ces ravageurs au Canada sont estimées pour le colza à l'huile. L'analyse de deux enquêtes de terrain et des rapports touchant l'efficacité de diverses pratiques de lutte dérivées d'expériences réalisées en parcelles d'essais nous ont permis de calculer trois groupes d'estimations fondées sur différentes hypothèses. Un écart du quadruple sépare le calcul le plus élevé et le plus bas. Les calculs plus bas nous apparaissent comme les plus réalistes. Les pertes représentaient environ 8% de la production annuelle de 72 millions de dollars de 1979. Cette année les producteurs ont dépensé environ 12 millions de dollars pour la lutte chimique ce qui leur a valu une épargne d'environ 44 millions de dollars. En terminant, il faut ajouter que les dommages annuels provoqués par les altises sont estimés à 10% et sont plus élevés au Manitoba qu'en Saskatchewan, et que les dommages estimés en petites parcelles d'essais sont plus élevés en moyenne que ceux des champs commerciaux, ce qui explique la plupart des différences observées dans nos estimations.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 114 , Issue 9 , September 1982 , pp. 827 - 840
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1982

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