Abstract
We investigate the economic implications of Plant Parasitic Nematode (PPN) infestation and evaluate the financial effectiveness of their management strategies, focusing on fumigation and use of PPN-resistant potato varieties specifically the king russet in six major potato-producing states: Idaho, Washington, Colorado, Wisconsin, North Dakota, and New York of U.S. With the help of enterprise budget and customized input-output model, this study estimates the profitability of potato farming at farm level and economic impact of PPN infestation and consequences of adaptation of PPN resistant variety instead of conventional potato farming at regional level for each state under our study. When 100 acres of potato fields in each state are infected with PPN, then including all direct and indirect economic effects, in 2022 it has a total negative economic impact of $7.5 million across all the states under our study. While considering the two different management regimes, under the given condition with low break-even price and high estimated net returns to farmers adoption of PPN resistant varieties is found to be profitable to potato growers in our study area. Similarly, the increase in the economic activity and value-added due to shifting from conventional potato farming to our hypothetical king russet potato farming in 100 acres of potato field indicates a positive impact on the state’s economy, demonstrating that the adoption of the PPN-resistant potato varieties like king russet has a board, beneficial economic effects across the US potato production.