Sample selection model assessing professional scouting programs and pesticide use in cotton production

A sample selection model is estimated using data from a 1989 survey of cotton farmers in the 14 major producing states to assess the effects of the farmer's participation in a professional scouting program on pesticide use in cotton production. Our results, based on 1989 conditions, indicate that participation in a professional scouting program increases yield and the number of treatments per acre of pesticides (broadly defined to include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, desiccants|defoliants, and growth regulators). Use of pest-resistant plants reduces the number of pesticide treatments per acre and irrigation increases the number of treatments per acre. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.<NOTER HREF="note2"></NOTER> <NOTE ID="note2"> <P>This article is a US Government work, and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.</NOTE>