It should be noted that other pests, such as weeds, will need to be managed on an as needed basis, which may add costs to both resistant and non-resistant crop production. A comparison of these cost estimates is provided in Table 1. Although the cost of resistant cultivars may be slightly higher, yield increases and lower fumigant treatment costs may help to offset these increases. Furthermore, the costs of nematode resistant cultivars are expected to decrease in the future as a wider variety of cultivars become available on the commercial market. Finally, through breeding for resistance, seed producers are also able to combine resistance with other traits including better marketability, longer shelf life, and increased yields.
More research dedicated to the future development of nematode resistant cultivars is needed.
Assumed 1 pound of seed planted per acre. References Ashworth, William. 1991. The Encyclopedia of Environmental Studies. New York, Fact on File Publishers. University of California at Riverside.