Developing Flexible Economic Thresholds for Pest Management Using Dynamic Programming

The rice stink bug is a major pest of rice in Texas, causing quality related damage. The previous thresholds used for assisting in rice stink bug spray decisions lacked flexibility in economic and production decision variables and neglected the dynamics of the pest population. Using stochastic dynamic programming, flexible economic thresholds for the rice stink bug were generated. The new thresholds offer several advantages over the old, static thresholds, including increased net returns, incorporation of pest dynamics, user flexibility, ease of implementation, and a systematic process for updating. Key Word * economic thresholds, dynamic programming, pest management, rice The need for flexibility in management strategies for dynamic agricultural processes has been emphasized in many studies (Antle 1983 a,b; Mjelde, Dixon, and Sonka). One area in which this need has long been acknowledged is pest management (Stone and Pedigo). The developmen