Major Cultural Practices and Their Effect on Crop Disease

Abstract

Economic criteria are not the only ones to be applied to the choice of agricultural practices, including pest control decisions. Political considerations, such as the effort to reduce imports, social aspects, such as extension of farming to new areas, environmental arguments and health hazards may combine to make governments advocate (or legislate) and farmers adopt practices not otherwise preferable for farm production. However, in a discussion of cost/benefit and risk aspects of pest control, economic criteria generally outweigh all others.