Spatial analysis of maize cropping systems to relieve crop pest pressure in Austria

Maize production in Austria is at risk because few appropriate pest control measures are currently available. Production opportunities change if pests reach economically relevant levels. In the case of the Western Corn Rootworm (Dicabrotica virgifera virgifera), intensive maize production contributes to population establishment and vice versa leads to maize yield losses. We assess the opportunity costs of crop rotations at different levels of pest pressure. Additionally, maize is substituted by other crops in crop rotations due to policy regulations. Results show that the substitution of maize by other crops reduces gross margins of crop rotations, but vulnerability to pest pressure in terms of yield losses exceeds the impacts of alternative crops on gross margins. Monitoring results and analyses of crop production in Austria point out the close relationship between pest populations and maize cropping in the last decade. Thus, there is a demand for spatially explicit modeling of pest control measures. In the outlook of this paper, potential approaches for integrated and coordinated pest management implementation at the landscape scale are described.