Preventative Disease Management and Grower Decision Making: A Case Study of California Wine-Grape Growers.
Preventative disease management is challenging to farmers because it requires paying immediate costs in the hopes of returning uncertain future benefits. Understanding farmer decision making about prevention has the potential to reduce disease incidence and minimize the need for more costly postinfection practices. For example, the grapevine trunk-disease complex (esca, Botryosphaeria dieback, Eutypa dieback, and Phomopsis dieback) significantly affects vineyard productivity and longevity. Given the chronic nature of the infections and inability to eradicate the fungal pathogens, the preventative practices of delayed pruning, applications of pruning-wound protectants, and double pruning (also known as prepruning) are the most effective means of management. We surveyed wine-grape growers in six regions of California on their use of these three practices. In spite of acknowledging the yield impacts of trunk diseases, a substantial number of respondents either choose not to use preventative practices or incorrectly adopted them in mature vineyards, too late in the disease cycle to be effective. Growers with more negative perceptions of cost efficacy were less likely to adopt preventative practices or were more likely to time adoption incorrectly in mature vineyards. In general, preventative management may require strong intervention in the form of policy or extension to motivate behavioral change.
First and second authors: Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis 95616; third author: Department of Economics, California State University Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento 95819; and fourth author: United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Davis, CA 95616.
Vicken
V
Hillis
First and second authors: Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis 95616; third author: Department of Economics, California State University Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento 95819; and fourth author: United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Davis, CA 95616.
Mark
M
Lubell
First and second authors: Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis 95616; third author: Department of Economics, California State University Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento 95819; and fourth author: United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Davis, CA 95616.
Jonathan
J
Kaplan
First and second authors: Department of Environmental Science & Policy, University of California, One Shields Avenue, Davis 95616; third author: Department of Economics, California State University Sacramento, 6000 J Street, Sacramento 95819; and fourth author: United States Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service, Davis, CA 95616.
Kendra
K
Baumgartner
D001203:Ascomycota / Q000502:physiology*; D002140:California; D003657:Decision Making; D010935:Plant Diseases / Q000382:microbiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D027843:Vitis / Q000382:microbiology*