A spatial game-based approach for designing sustainable management of fall armyworm

Abstract

Cooperative use of resistance management strategies by farmers could significantly improve the sustainable management of lepidopteran pests of economically important crops. In this study, we propose to simulate with game theory how ecological interactions and cooperation between farmers affect control and the dynamics of local adaptation to critical insecticides in fall armyworm (Spodoptera frugiperda), a devastating pest of multiple crops in neotropical agroecosystems. Volunteer plants and post-harvest crop residues are a serious problem in Brazil. Failure to destroy these host plants allows cross-contamination between crops by S. frugiperda within and between growing seasons. This increases use of key insecticides such as diamides and selection for resistance to the insecticides in fields of Bt crops and their refuges. Cooperation between farmers aimed at reducing cross-crop contamination is vital to decrease such selection. In this project, we will simulate scenarios involving various types of cooperation between farmers to provide valuable insights into conditions leading to significant payoffs associated with cooperation in implementing local pest management practices. Simulations will also evaluate how cooperation can reduce crop damage from fall armyworm. Information arising from this work will be useful to farmers, regulators, and other stakeholders involved in decision-making regarding resistance management and control of fall armyworm in South America. The modeling research will be conducted in collaboration with Yves Carrière and Bruce E. Tabashnik at the University of Arizona. (AU)