Uncertainty Undermines Area-Wide Pest Management for Citrus Greening in Florida

Abstract

Area-wide pest management targets the pest population of an entire area rather than a single farm. Such collective efforts are more efficient in the use of pest-control inputs and therefore have more lasting effects relative to individual (uncoordinated) farm sprays when pest populations are highly mobile. Coordinated sprays may also help reduce pesticide resistance (Vreysen, Robinson, and Hendrichs, 2007). From an economic standpoint, growers are expected to join an area-wide management group and coordinate pest management practices whenever the benefits outweigh the costs. Remarkably, Florida citrus growers’ participation in area-wide pest management has not been commensurate with evidence regarding its effectiveness in dealing with citrus greening. A likely explanation for the low participation rate is that the cost of coordinating insecticide sprays includes more than just application costs; it also includes the uncertainty growers face regarding their neighbors’ behavior