Economic Benefits of Fungicide Use in Corn Production

This study used experimental data from West Lafayette, Indiana to examine the economic benefits of applying fungicide to corn. The average improvements in yield, gross revenue, and net return (gross revenue minus fungicide and application cost) were 4 bushels per acre, $19 per acre, and -$9 per acre, respectively. Stochastic dominance was used to compare the fungicide application treatments to a no fungicide application alternative. Individual fungicides were part of the stochastic dominance efficient sets. However, with recent corn prices, the improvement in yields and gross revenue would not be high enough to make the individual fungicides economically viable.