Pareto-efficient biological pest control enable high efficacy at small costs

Abstract

Biological pest control is increasingly used in agriculture as a an alternative to traditional chemical pest control. In many cases, this involves a one-off or periodic release of naturally occurring and/or genetically modified enemies such as predators, parasitoids, or pathogens. As the interaction between these enemies and the pest is complex and the production of natural enemies potentially expensive, it is not surprising that both the efficacy and economic viability of biological pest control are debated. Here, we investigate the performance of very simple control strategies. In particular, we show how Paretoefficient one-off or periodic release strategies, that optimally trade off between efficacy and economic viability, can be devised and used to enable high efficacy at small economic costs. We demonstrate our method on a pest-pathogen-crop model with a tunable immigration rate of pests. By analyzing this model, we demonstrate that simple Pareto-efficient one-off and periodic release strategies are efficacious and simultaneously have profits that are close to the theoretical maximum obtained by strategies optimizing only the profit. When the immigration rate of pests is low to intermediate, one-off control strategies are sufficient, and when the immigration of pests is high, periodic release strategies are preferable. The methods presented here can be extended to more complex scenarios and be used to identify promising biological pest control strategies in many circumstances.

Selectivity of deltamethrin doses on Palmistichus elaeisis (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) parasitizing Tenebrio molitor (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

“…The IPM is defined as a synergistic, ecosystem-based strategy that focuses in reducing the pest population levels or their damages using a combination of techniques, including biological and chemical control, habitat manipulation, pheromones, plant resistance and trapping. The effects on organisms of the third trophic level, such as native predators and parasitoids may impair the use of insecticides 4 . These products can reduce the natural biological control of pests, which in IPM, should be a complementary strategy to chemical control.…”

Applying the ‘no-one worse off’ criterion to design Pareto efficient HIV responses in Sudan and Togo

“…However, for communicable diseases, preventing a primary case in one population may avert multiple downstream infections due to the dynamic nature of pathogen transmission. Pareto efficiency has been considered in theoretical infectious disease models [8][9][10], but not extensively in real-world settings.…”

AVALIAÇÃO DA ATIVIDADE ANTIFÚNGICA DE FOLHAS DE CINAMOMO (Melia azedarach) SOBRE FUNGOS FITOPATOGÊNICOS VISANDO UMA ALTERNATIVA AOS AGROTÓXICOS

“…Dentre esses fungicidas, destacam-se o tebuconazol (triazol), tiabendazol (benzimidazol) e mancozeb (ditiocarbamato) (AGROFIT, 2020), todos considerados muito perigosos ao meio ambiente. O uso desses fungicidas em frutos colhidos tem sido largamente contestado por conta dos problemas relacionados à forte toxicidade residual que acaba causando danos ao ambiente e ao desenvolvimento de pragas resistentes, além de causarem danos sérios a saúde humana pela exposição direta prolongada aos compostos (LUNDSTRÖM et al, 2017). Estudos demonstram que alguns desses compostos, como os carbamatos são capazes de causar danos no sistema nervoso de organismos aquáticos por afetar a atividade de enzimas necessárias ao metabolismo (WANG et al, 2015).…”