Campus Units
Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Version
Published Version
Publication Date
2016
DOI
10.13031/aim.20162461363
Conference Title
2016 ASABE Annual International Meeting
Conference Date
July 17–20, 2016
City
Orlando, FL, United States
Abstract
Cucurbit crops are vulnerable to fungal infections spread by insects which act as a disease vector. Excluding insects by covering rows of cucurbit crops in a low tunnel structure offers an alternative to insecticide application. Differences in costs for using spunbond polypropylene (e.g. Agribon) or polyethylene mesh (e.g. Proteknet) as row covers were compared with a conventional chemical application strategy. Costs of materials, machinery, and insecticide were calculated for ten years of operation on 0.2, 0.4, 0.8, 2, or 4 ha (0.5, 1, 2, 5, or 10 acres).
The total costs of the spunbond polypropylene system were $1620/ha to $5290/ha ($650/acre to $2140/acre) greater than the conventional system depending on operational size. Smaller production areas were more costly due to machinery costs. The polyethylene mesh system was $1500/ha ($600/acre) more costly than using spunbond polypropylene due to material costs. A truck-mounted sprayer became more cost effective than a backpack sprayer as operational size increased beyond 0.8 ha (2 acre). The increased costs of the row cover strategy will need to be off-set by increased yield or value of the cucurbit crop (i.e. organic sales).
Copyright Owner
American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers
Copyright Date
2016
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Hanna, H. Mark; Polk, Danielle N.; Rosentrater, Kurt A.; and Steward, Brian L., "Economic analysis of row cover insect exclusion for cucurbit crops" (2016). Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering Conference Proceedings and Presentations. 476.
https://lib.dr.iastate.edu/abe_eng_conf/476
Comments
This paper is from 2016 ASABE Annual International Meeting, Paper No. 162461363, pages 1-7 (doi: 10.13031/aim.20162461363). St. Joseph, Mich.: ASABE. Posted with permission.