The economic importance of early pest control: new insights from potential Popillia japonica infestation in Europe.

Abstract

The invasive Japanese beetle ( Popillia japonica Newman ) can infest more than 300 types of host plants and has been classified as the second most important potential priority pest in Europe. Given growing concerns about its impact on the food sector, we apply a scenario approach, which accounts for spatial and temporal aspects of the invasion process, to estimate future damage costs for major European crops in the absence of management and in consideration of future climate scenarios based on the representative concentration pathway (RCP) 8.5 for the period 2040-2069. We find that potential damage costs can be substantial, ranging from €30 million to €7.8 billion per year. While we find heterogeneous effects across countries and crops, large grape producing countries like France and Italy have an immense damage potential of around €92 million and €68 million per year, respectively. This implies that a reduction of the spread speed of the beetle can generate positive externalities across the European food sector. Thus, European food policy should incentivize and reward early pest management. This includes measures to reduce spread associated with human activities, e.g. travels, such as increased pre- and post-border bio-security procedures, particularly during summer months when the beetle spread rate is highest. For countries where total control is no longer possible, we emphasize the importance of investments in monitoring and environmentally friendly control measures. Specifically, in industries with high preferences for organic products, research on biological controls is important as it supports key policy goals of reduced dependency on chemical pesticides, ecosystem restoration and market opportunities.

Private management costs of Popillia japonica: a study of viticulture in Italy

“…Hence, the PB technique is the optimal choice because it focuses on the producer. The method is based on the notion that changes will lead to adjustments in the farming system such as reductions or increases in some costs and revenues ( 14 , 25 , 28 ). Adding up the negative and/or positive cost changes will lead to the overall net change in profit ( 26 ) as presented in Table 2 .…”

“…For example, Straubinger et al. ( 14 ) estimate that without effective management of the beetle, a full infestation in the EU could lead to potential annual damage costs of €30 million up to €7.8 billion for the host crops of grain maize, soy, apple, peach, cherry, and grapes. For Italy, it has been estimated that a full Japanese beetle infestation could lead to annual damage costs of around €68 million with grapes accounting for 74% of the damage ( 14 ).…”

“…( 14 ) estimate that without effective management of the beetle, a full infestation in the EU could lead to potential annual damage costs of €30 million up to €7.8 billion for the host crops of grain maize, soy, apple, peach, cherry, and grapes. For Italy, it has been estimated that a full Japanese beetle infestation could lead to annual damage costs of around €68 million with grapes accounting for 74% of the damage ( 14 ). Grapevine is one of the pests preferred host crops ( 15 , 16 ) and large numbers of the adult beetle can be found between June and July in infested viticulture areas in Italy ( 7 ).…”

A nationwide pest risk analysis in the context of the ongoing Japanese beetle invasion in Continental Europe: The case of metropolitan France

“…In the USA, efforts to control the larval and adult stages were estimated to be around $460 million in 2015 ( 3 ). No extensive damage has been recorded in Europe yet, but recent studies ( 5 , 33 ) suggest substantial potential damage costs. In particular, Straubinger et al ( 33 ) outlined that major grape and wine producing countries like France and Italy would have a potential economic damage of about €92 million and €68 million per year, respectively.…”

De novo assembly and annotation of Popillia japonica’s genome with initial clues to its potential as an invasive pest

“…It has been estimated that more than $460 million per year [ 9 ] are needed to control the spread of the species in the US. Furthermore, a recent projection on potential damages in the European Union (EU) led to estimates from €30 million to €7.8 billion per year [ 10 ]. As such, P. japonica is creating the utmost concerns and has been included in the list of quarantine pest by the European Plant Protection Organization.…”