IMPACT OF DAMAGE CONTROL AND QUALITY OF OUTPUT - ESTIMATING PEST-CONTROL EFFECTIVENESS

Damage control affects both realized output and product quality; ignor ing quality leads to underestimates of damage control agent productivi ty. Empirical analysis of pesticide use in North Carolina apple produc tion using the damage control approach shows that fungicides and pruni ng reduce both yield losses and quality degradation, while insecticide s reduce quality damage. Quality accounts for substantial shares of pr ofit-maximizing insecticide and fungicide use. Use of both insecticide s and fungicides appears excessive, while the potential for substituti on between mechanical and chemical disease control appears large. A Co bb-Douglas specification of the quantity production function gives sub stantially larger estimates of fungicide productivity than the damage control specification.